Thomas Gray, Philosopher Cut. It concerns the adventures of Lucas Fysst - a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, con- cerned with the relationship between sci- ence and religion - who goes to Copenhagen initially to attend a conference on the Nature of the Soul. He is assisted by Thomas Gray - female despite the name -the College’s philosophic and resourceful cat. Together, they seek an unknown manu- script which would dispel the belief that Hans Christian Andersen, who immortal- ized so many animals, was an unrepentant cat-hater. With the help of some unexpected acquaintances, and Hans Christian Andersen’s ghost, they follow a series of clues which lead them to a successful con- clusion. The crucial manuscript is eventual- ly found in the Danish Kongelige Bibliotek itself, where it has lain since 1875. The Danes not making great distinction between first and second names, it had been acciden- tally classified under Anders Christian Hansen. The point was proved: Hans Christian Andersen truly loved cats. A tale to be enjoyed by cat-lovers and scientists alike - whom we may hope to be synonymous.

Trevor I. Williams

The Private Science of Louis Pasteur. By Gerald L. Geison. Pp. 378. Princeton University Press, 1995. lJS$29.95. ISBN 0 691 03442 7.

In 1964 Louis Pasteur’s grandson, Dr Pasteur Vallery-Radot, donated the great man’s papers to the Biblioteque Nationale in Paris. The material was on restricted access until Vallery-Radot’s death in 197 1. Pasteur’s laboratory notebooks in this collection are the basis of Professor Geison’s revision of selected episodes in the chemist’s life. The study concentrates primarily on Pasteur’s discovery of the rela- tion between crystalline form and the ro- tation of polarized light, the work on an- thrax, and the famous rabies episode. In each instance Geison shows, by comparing Pasteur’s notebooks with the published accounts, that he was often publicly eco- nomical with the truth. This most striking instance of this was the dramatic demon-

stration of anthrax vaccine at Pouilly- le-Fort. Pasteur led his audience to believe he was using one vaccine when, for reasons that would have been embarrassing to declare publicly, he was actually using another. Geison’s book has created some- thing of a stir. This is a shame. Nowhere does he suggest that Pasteur did anything fraudulent and he convinces the reader of Pasteur’s genuine experimental brilliance. Geison merely makes the point that labora- tory work is not public science, as all scien- tists very well know. This is a major study which deserves a wide readership.

Chris Lawrence

Fifty Years of Antimicrobials: Past Perspectives and Future Trends. Edited by PA. Hunter, G.K. Darby and N.J. Russell. Pp. 376. The Society for General Microbiology Ltd, Symposium 53, 7995. ISBN 0 527 48108 2.

The first President of the Society for General Microbiology, 50 years ago, was Alexander Fleming. His Linacre lecture, given at Cambridge in 1946, is reproduced at the beginning of this book. It contains a readable description of his own experience with the local application of various chemi- cals toxic to leucocytes during the First World War. His remarkable discovery in 1928 of a Penicillium fungus producing a non-toxic penicillin is briefly described. However, his claim in retrospect that he was prevented from discovering the great va!ue of his active material as a systemic chemotherapeutic agent because of lack of chemical assistance appears to be simplistic, This was first demonstrated 10 years later in Oxford with material that was very crude indeed.

A following chapter describes the great number of penicillins, cephalosporins and other substances with a p-lactam ring fused with a second ring, but more might have been written about the interesting discovery of monobactams with a S-lactam ring alone.

The subjects of further chapters include quinolones as antibacterial agents; the resist- ance of antibiotics to bacteria; antifungal agents with variable activity in man or in plants; tropical diseases: antiprotozoal

drugs; the molecular genetics of p-lactams; and the function of antibiotics in nature. All the chapters are well-documented with ref- erence to original publications and with chemical structures for the very many com- pounds that are described in the text.

Sir Edward Penley Abraham

Allelopathy. Organisms, Processes and Applications. Edited by Inderjit, K. M. M. Dakshini and Frank A. Einhellig. Pp. 380. American Chemical Society, 1994. US$99.95. ISBN 0 84123061 7.

Allelopathy is the mechanism by which plants can affect their neighbours by releas- ing biologically active chemicals. This was classically demonstrated by shrubs in the Californian chaparral having a halo of bare ground around them due to the release of phytotoxic terpenoids. This book aims to be an up-to-date and comprehensive collection of original research and review papers providing ‘some of the most recent insights into the range of allelopathic func- tions’. Major sections are interactions between specific organisms, the allelopathy process, allelopathy in agriculture, bio- control and applications of allelochemicals. For example, in weeds, although pathogenic fungi can be used to control certain species, the use of the isolated phytotoxins as natu- ral herbicides is a new development and they can affect a wider range of species. It is good to see a chapter on lichens, one of the most chemically well-equipped groups, as they are so often inexplicably overlooked by biologists. One chapter includes a useful list of known allelopathic plants (excluding woody and non-vascular plants) - 67 genera and 97 species with 302 allelopathic inter- actions. The papers, in standard format except for typeface, were peer-refereed and are mostly dated July-August 1994 and, thankfully, there is an index. This book can be thoroughly recommended to anyone interested in getting involved in this rapidly expanding research field, or to those just wanting to keep up with the developments.

D.J. Hill

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