MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, VOL. 24, 369 (1986)

Book Review

DEREK SHAW Fourier Transform NMR Spectroscopy (Second Edition) Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1985. $75.

In spite of the large number of books 3 on nuclear magnetic resonance, it is

still hard to recommend a single source suitable for the intelligent undergradu- ate or the beginning research worker in the field, particularly if we insist that the modern techniques be properly treated. After all, very few spectro- meters now use continuous-wave slow passage methods. Shaw’s Fourier Transform NMR Spectroscopy satisfies these criteria commendably well and is written in a refreshingly readable style.

The second edition goes a long way to bringing things up-to-date in this confusing, rapidly developing field. In particular, Chapter 5 has been ex- panded to cover spin echoes, polariza- tion transfer (INEPT and DEPT) double-quantum coherence experi- ments, ‘editing’ of carbon-13 spectra and composite pulses. Chapter 10 is an entirely new addition, covering the subjects of two-dimensional Fourier transformation and magnetic resonance imaging. The former obviously owes something to Bax’s Two Dimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in Liquids, providing enough for the general reader without losing him in the technicalities of the subject.

Wisely, Shaw leaves magnetic re- sonance imaging to the last, since it may well be the most important new development of all and any newcomer to NMR should surely be made aware of the tremendous possibilities in medicine. Perhaps it is a pity that so little space has been devoted to high-resolution in vivo NMR (here called ‘topical’ NMR), for this may one day surpass the imaging technique in its importance for medical science.

It seems a pity that several typ- ographical errors were carried over from the first edition.

RAY FREEMAN University of Oxford

@ 1986 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.