Thorpe's Dictionary of Applied Chemistry

Abstract

THE third edition of “Thorp” originally ran into seven volumes. The fourth, in the same span, takes us only halfway through the alphabet, and if the standard were maintained (and it can be stated forthwith that it is) on simple proportion we might expect it to be twice as useful. In fact, the ratio is even higher since, with the. exception of a few short items, mainly on minerals, the whole of the subject-matter has been rewritten, only the more important parts of the older material being retained and incorporated with the new matter. Merely to browse through this book is a most salutary proceeding for, apart from inducing a fuller appreciation of all the work that has been involved in the production, it brings home with a startling jolt how much there is that one does not know. It follows that, when in search of a piece of information, it is wise to “look it up in Thorpe” first. Of course, the answer is not always there; no one book or set of books could contain all the answers; but the state of the volumes of “Thorpe” after several years in a library or general laboratory is a dumb token of appreciation.

Thorpe's Dictionary of Applied Chemistry

Fourth edition, revised and enlarged. Vol. 7: Iodazide—Metellagic Acid. With an Index by Dr. J. N. Goldsmith. Pp. xii + 629. (London, New York and Toronto: Longmans, Green and Co., Ltd., 1946.) 80s. net.