PhotorhPrnmr-y ond Phorohiology. Vol 3 I. p. 645 0 Pergarnon Press Ltd 1980. Prmed in Great Britain

W3 1-Y655/80/0601-0645502.W/0

RECENT BOOKS ON PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY

The following books have been received from publishers. Reviews on these books will.periodically appear in this Journal. Publishers are encouraged to send relevant books for review to the Editor.

Advances in Photochemistry, Volume 11. Edited by J. N. Pitts, Jr., G. S. Hammond and K. Gollnick, Wiley, England, 1979.

Bioluminescence in Action. Edited by P. 3. Herring, Academic Press, London, 1978. 570 pp. 551.75. Biomembranes, Volume 10. Edited by L. A. Manson, Plenum Press, New York, 1979. 241 pp. $29.50. Light Transducing Membraws. Edited by D. W. Deamer, Academic Press, New York, 1978. 358 pp. $17.00. Photobiology. Sergei Vasil'evich Konev and Igor Dmitrievich Volotovsky. Lenin Belorussian State University, Minsk,

Photochemical and Photobiological Reviews. Edited by K. C. Smith, Plenum Press, New York, 1979. 344 pp. $35.00. Physiology of Movements. Edited by W. Haupt and M. E. Feinleib, Springer-Verlag, Secaucus, New Jersey, 1979. 720pp.

Porphyrin Chemistry Advances. Edited by F. R. Longo, Ann Arbor Science, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1979. 368 pp. $18.70.

538 pp. $22.00.

1979. 383 pp.

$108.90.

BOOK REVIEW

Porphyrin Chemistry Advances Edited by FREDERICK R. LONGO. Drexel University. Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Ann Arbor. Michigan, 1979. vii + 368 pp. $18.70.

This is a compilation of 26 contributions from the partici- pants of the Porphyrin Symposium of the ACS Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM) at the University of Delaware in April, 1977.

The contributions cover a very broad spectrum of sub- ject matter, making it difficult for a single reviewer to evaluate the entire book. They range over organic chemis- try, biochemistry, physical chemistry, X-ray crystallogra- phy, photophysics, photosynthesis, electrochemistry and spectroscopy. A brief subject index is included at the end of the book.

As is true in other symposium-originated books, each chapter is a progress report from a particular research group and anybody who wants to find in-depth reviews will be disappointed. The reviewer would like to question

the wisdom of covering so diverse a field in limited space. since it necessarily means omission of much important work in related areas. For example, there is a chapter devoted to porphyrin biosynthesis and anyone who is not familiar with the subject can easily be misled by reading' only the results from a particular group. There is again a single chapter on the study of a structural isomer of viramin B I Z , but the whole area of the ,exciting corrin chemistry is totally neglected.

This book is definitely designed for porphyrin experts with sufficient background knowledge. It will be more valuable for those who are already familiar with the more comprehensive text like Porphyrins arid Metalloporphgrins, edited by K. Smith.

Deparfmenf of Chemisfry College of Natural Sciences Seoul National Uniuersify Seoul. Korea

EUN LEE

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