VIII trends in analytical chemistry, vo1.15, no. 4, 1996

cal samples) by Munson is broader than analytical pyrolysis only; identifi- cation of environmental pollutants re- suiting from industrial waste disposal and recycling is also discussed. An assay on the use of analytical pyrolysis in forensic science (by Challinor) is completed by an interesting real mur- der case study. Comparison of differ- ent analytical techniques for the characterisation of microorganisms is given by Morgan et al.

In brief, this is a valuable guide to the field of applied analytical pyro- lysis. For an analyst who is going to develop a specific pyrolysis method the last chapter which includes over 60 capillary GC pyrograms of many different materials (synthetic poly-

mers, polyolefms, nylons, biological and natural materials, manufactured goods), all performed using common columns, is especially useful. The index of samples discussed facilitates the access to the information. In my opinion, the book is worth-buying not only by large university libraries (to serve as a textbook for graduate stu- dents), but also by any practising ana- lyst in the field of organic environmental, forensic, polymer and biochemical analysis.

RYSZARD LOBINSKI

Dr. R. Lobinski is at the Universite de Bordeaux, CNRS URA 348, Talance, France.

Chemometrics in analytical spectroscopy

Chemometrics in Analytical Spec- troscopy, by M.J. Adams, RSC Ana- lytical Spectroscopy Monographs Series, The Royal Society of Chem- istry, London, 1995, vii + 216 pages, £ 39.50, ISBN 0-85404-555-4

The classification and interpretation of analytical data is often a limiting factor in the efficiency of many mod- ern laboratories. Quite some years ago now, Professor Betteridge warned of this increasing challenge to analytical science in a lecture aptly entitled "What are we going to do with all these numbers?". The answer then, as indeed now, was to apply che- mometric techniques to extract the in- formation contained in those numbers and to reduce their bulk to manageable proportions.

Analytical spectroscopists prob- ably generate more numbers than most. Why then are chemometric methods still regarded as the province of the specialist and not as widely used as they ought to be in the routine la- boratory? The answer may lie in the fact that many of the procedures are mathematically difficult, the existing literature is couched in the language of statistics, and relatively few are pre- pared to undergo the mental anguish of getting to grips with it! There are quite a few excellent texts already on the subject but they tend towards the expert user rather than the novice. Dr.

Adams has succeeded in providing a text which is focused on analytical spectroscopy and that gently guides the reader through the concepts with- out recourse to too much matrix alge- bra.

The book begins with a short simple introduction to descriptive statistics and the principles underlying univari- ate and multivariate analyses. By its very nature, its brevity and simplicity leave many topics barely covered and the reader is encouraged to consult other works to learn more. For example the section on outliers, of little more than a page, is clearly only the briefest of insights into this very important area. I would have liked to

have seen more on simple exploratory data analysis methods in the section on displaying data. Chapter 2 pro- vides an introduction to data acquisi- tion and enhancement techniques. There is excellent coverage of signal processing particularly Savitzky- Golay smoothing. The next chapter covers derivative methods, integra- tion techniques and an introduction to principal components and factor ana- lysis. Chapters 4 and 5 are concerned with the powerful pattern techniques of clustering and discriminant ana- lysis. These techniques are described with the aid of worked examples from real spectroscopic data sets. The final chapter is concerned with calibration and regression analysis. Univariate and multivariate methods are dis- cussed. The use of orthogonal polyno- mials and principal components regression is covered also with a brief insight into partial least squares methods. The work concludes with an appendix on basic matrix algebra il- lustrated with simple examples using spectroscopic data.

Overall this monograph is a good starting point for analytical chemists in search of understanding some of the more important chemometric techniques employed in analytical spectroscopy, especially those who are wary of the mathematical difficul- ties.

CHRIS BURGESS

Dr. C Burgess is at 'Rose Rae; The Lendings, Startforth, Bamard Castle, Co. Durham, DL12 9AB, UK.

Flame spectrometry in environmental analysis

Flame Spectrometry in Environmen- tal Chemical Analysis: A Practical Guide, by M.S. Cresser, The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1994, £29.50, x + 108 pages, ISBN 0-85186-734.0

This monograph of 108 pages is one of a series on analytical spectroscopy published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. It has nine chapters and a brief but adequate subject index. As far as the title is concerned, what you

see is what you get. The practical as- pects of flame spectroscopy are em- phasised, theoryis kept to a minimum, and the slant is towards the analysis of water, soil, plant and rock samples. It is written primarily for newcomers to the subject, and those who only want to analyze samples correctly, without becoming experts in the techniques. Most of the text concerns flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), but comments are also given on the attributes of emission and flu- orescence measurements. Inclusion