ADVANCED MATERIALS

Book Reviews

Telling Titles Shape in Chemistry-An Introduction

to Molecular Shape and Topology. By Paul G. Mezey, VCH, Weinheim 1993, XI, 224 pp., hardcover,

Molecular shape has played a signifi- cant role in many qualitative theories of chemistry and biology and also indirect- ly in the quantitative techniques used in molecular modeling. Shape itself, how- ever, has received relatively little atten- tion, and the mathematical theory of shape has never really been important in chemical theories. A book on shape in chemistry is therefore a welcome addi- tion to the area of mathematical treat- ments of chemical phenomena and there is probably no one better qualified to write such a book than Paul Mezey. The preface defines the author’s perspective very clearly in one sentence: Today, shape is in the computer of the beholder. This sentence paradoxically sums up the great strength and the most significant weakness of the book.

The first five chapters provide an ad- mirable mathematical background to the theory of shape and topology, often using everyday examples and in a way designed to communicate the basic con- cepts to even the non-specialist reader. The book is at its best in these chapters. It is informative and readable yet also provides a sound mathematical frame- work for the ideas being discussed. The first chapter introduces the intuitive concept of molecular shape as applied to stereochemistry, chirality, point and framework groups, and dynamic prop- erties. This is followed by a quantum chemical definition of molecular shape that will be familiar to many who have heard Paul Mezey’s lectures. This chap- ter would have benefited from more so- phisticated graphics, especially now that there are so many very attractive soft- ware packages designed to display molecular surfaces. The next three chap- ters move into the-for most chemists- less familiar realm of topology, knot theory, shape groups, graphs, codes, and matrices and the mathematical en- coding of shape information. These chapters present the basics of a theoreti-

DM 124.00, ISBN 3-527-27932-6.

cal approach that clearly has many ap- plications in chemistry. They and Chap- ter 6 provide many fresh ideas for traditional molecular modelers, and I found them very stimulating.

Chapter 6 treats molecular similarity, but I was mildly frustrated that the ideas presented never really seem to develop into a useful methodology that could find its way into the everyday arsenal of

SHAPE IN CHEMI~TRY practical computer chemists. Similarly, Chapter 7 on quantitative shape-activity relationships (QShAR, possibly one of the least attractive acronyms flying around today) never really gets down to the nuts and bolts applications that show the reader whether this approach actually works and can be used for real problems. These two chapters, although full of useful ideas, would have benefited immensely from some real examples, comparisons with other similarity and QShAR methods and so on. This is the only weakness of the book, but it is a significant one because it prevents it from being the “Bible” of molecular shape for practicing chemists. It remains at the level of a stimulating and enter- taining provider of new ideas without

ever making the transition to real appli- cations examples on well-known mole- cules.

I found Shape in Chemistry very en- joyable and am sure that I will return to it many times over the next few years. If its purpose is to stimulate and to have people think about using formal shape representations in their own work, it is a great success. It is less successfuI as a practical guide to using shape to treat well-defined problems, but that may be a reflection of the fact that the theory of shape has still to be established as a practical research tool.

Tim Clark Computer-Chemie-Centrum,

Universitat Erlangen-Niirnberg, Nagelsbachstrasse 25,

D-91052 Erlangen (Germany)

Handbook of Crystal Growth, Vol. 1 a, Thermodynamics and Kinetics, and Vol. 1 b, Transport and Stability. Edit- ed by D. 7: J. Hurle, Elsevier, Amster- dam 1993, XIV, 1218 pp., hardcover,

Bulk and epitaxial crystal growth un- derlies the vast microelectronics indus- try, and yet it remains a vigorous topic of basic research. This emphasizes the fact that crystal growth is both an art and a science, as pointed out by the edi- tor in the preface to this ambitious set of volumes. The aim of this handbook is to set out in a comprehensive fashion the basic mechanisms, models and chem- istry of crystal growth, and in so doing to provide a counterpoint to the some- times more ephemeral data contained in crystal growth conference proceedings, where the rush to print often means the conclusions must be later amended. This first volume of the Handbook of Crystal Growth, ably edited by D. T. J. Hurle, covers the basics of thermodynamics and kinetics in nine chapters by different contributing authors (Volume 1 a), and transport and stability during growth in seven chapters (Volume 1 b) . Volume 1 provides the basic models for crystal growth and serves as an introduction to

$388.50, ISBN 0-444-89933-2.

Adv. Muter. 1994, 6, No. 9 0 VCH Verlugsgesellschuft mbH, 0-69469 Weinheim, 1994 09~5-964819410909-o705 8 5.00+ ,2510 705