Abstract
AN attractive title does not by itself make an attractive book. Assuming that “The Library of Useful Stories” is intended for the general reader, we are afraid that this short account of the compounds of carbon is largely beyond his comprehension. There is an abundance of information, but the repeated references to Mr. Muir's “Story of the Chemical Elements” will tantalise the man who expects to get knowledge and recreation by the same process. A sound knowledge of organic chemistry is only obtained by experimental methods based upon a thorough grounding in the elements of chemistry, and this end is most satisfactorily obtained by studying simple inorganic substances first. The author has adopted a style more suited for the classroom than the platform of the popular lecturer, and the ordinary person who takes up this little volume will, after reading very few pages, find himself completely out of his depth.
The Story of the Wanderings of Atoms, especially those of Carbon.
By M. M. Pattison Muir Pp. 192. (London: George Newnes, Ltd., 1899.)
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The Story of the Wanderings of Atoms, especially those of Carbon . Nature 61, 126 (1899). https://doi.org/10.1038/061126d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/061126d0