20N JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY APRIL 1992 VOL. 7 Book Reviews A Handbook of Silicate Rock Analysis. P. J. Potts. Pp. ix+622. Blackie and Son. 1987. Price E45.00 (soft cover). ISBN 0 216 93209 2. The fact that P. J. Potts’ A Handbook of Silicate Rock Analysis has appeared in paperback some five years after the original hardcover edition probably says more about its merits than any review. Those geoanalysts who balked at the hardcover price now have no excuse but to acquire this outstanding volume. Steven Jay Gould a geoanalyst in another vein has written:’ ‘The beauty of nature lies in detail; the message in generality. Optimal appreciation de- mands both and I know no better tactic than the illustration of exciting principles by well-chosen particulars’. Potts’ subject matter is extensive and his coverage encyclopaedic.Like Gould he is able to convey a general message without sacrificing a sense of detail. The result is a well-balanced work conveying the concepts of geoanalytical techniques on the one hand whilst providing a wealth of procedural detail on the other. Potts is a diligent writer able to communicate clearly scientific principles without re- sorting to simplification He prefaces the book by noting that i,he introduction of microcomputers and the resultant lack of interaction between user and machine has encour- aged a ‘black box’ attitude towardsJOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY APRIL 1992 VOL. 7 21N analytical chemistry. His stated pur- pose has therefore been to provide an appreciation of what happens between ‘samples in’ and ‘results out’.He claims ‘all analytical techniques avail- able for routine silicate rock analysis are discussed. Sufficient detail is in- cluded to provide practitioners of geo- chemistry with a firm base from which to assess current performance and in some cases future developments’. This is no mean claim and the book lives up to it admirably. It is a remar- kable foundation for those involved in the analysis of silicate rocks and would be an ideal course text. This is primarily a book for the analyst written from a laboratory per- spective. As such it is eminently prac- tical. It focuses on contemporary geoanalytical techniques and 17 of its 20 chapters deal with specific instru- mental techniques. In general the level of detail is appropriate to the subject however in some cases I would have hoped for more. For example in the wavelength- dispersive XRF section the measure- ment of background is discussed but not the problem of needing to know the background at the peak position but being unable to measure this in the sample itself.Potts approach necessarily results in an emphasis on specific procedures at the expense of a more holistic ap- proach to methodologies. The choice is logical given the ‘Handbook’ format and Potts does devote 40 pages to general concepts including sampling contamination reference materials and analytical data reporting in his opening chapter. There is an excellent expos6 on ‘detection versus determination lim- its’ which should be required reading for all who set foot in a geoanalytical laboratory.Typically this focuses on the limits associated with an indivi- dual technique rather than those asso- ciated with a complete ‘method’ (i.e. including sample preparation precon- centration measurement and data manipulation). In terms of production qualities the book has a clean presentation style for its text and the large 8 x 11 in format reduces the amount of page-turning required by the reader within each section. The binding could be stronger for a work that will be referenced frequently. The figures are generally well presented however despite the large format the layout oftablesisoften poor. Considering that this is essentially a second printing it is disconcerting to find a number of typographical errors.For example on page 16 the 99.74% confidence limit is given as +s instead of -t 3s; and in the caption to figure 1.16 kg are given when g are intended. Generally speaking the five years since this book first appeared have done little to date it. However it is unfortunate that there are no refer- ences to ICP-MS work later than 1983 and that the text is necessarily light on recent advances in robotics. It would seem a tragedy for a book of such significance ever to become out of data; would that a geoanalytical elec- tronic bulletin board were available to allow authors to update works such as this. Alternatively maybe we will see the development of software editions of key works. Use of a ‘Windows’ format with multiple levels of detail (‘help’) would satisfy the needs of many users and keeping such a work current could provide the author with work for a lifetime! Reference 1 GouId S.J. Wonderful Lge- The Bur- gess Shale and the Nature of History W. W. Norton New York London 1989 p. 13. C. Riddle Review of Government Laboratories Management of Policy Division Toronto Ontario Canada Atomic Absorption Spectrometry- Theory Design and Applications Edited by S. J. Haswell. Analytical Spectroscopy Library Volume 5. Pp. xx+530. Elsevier. 1992. Price US$ 177/Dfl 345. ISBN 0 444 88217 0. Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) has become one of the best established analytical techniques with respect to fundamentals instrumenta- tion and methodology of widespread applications. Although powerful com- petitive techniques to AAS have been developed within the discipline of ele- mental spectrometry (optical X-ray and mass spectroscopic techniques) AAS will remain for the foreseeable future the method of choice for many analytical tasks.By utilizing flames and electrothermal atomizers (ETA) AAS is playing an increasing role as a control method for other routine ana- lytical techniques. The main feature of this book is represented by the detailed descrip- tions of the methodologies elaborated and tested for 14 fields of application which are organized into separate chapters. The basic principles the instrumentation as well as the general practice of sample preparation and signal evaluation are discussed in a concise manner in the first three chap- ters (77 pages). The book is an inte- grated presentation of the contribu- tions of 25 experts. The potential reader may have easy access to the content of the book through the key words of individuaI chapters which emphasise the particu- lar topics of a given application.Waters Sewage and Efluents (44 pages 1 32 references). International standard concentrations in potable and surface waters. Toxicity versus hardness. Speciation (Sn). Sample col- lection filtration and preservation. Applicability of flame and ETA sources. Preconcentrations. Interfer- ence effects for specific elements (flame source). Operating conditions for ETAAS. Cold vapour (Hg) and hydride generation (As and Se). Marine Samples (33 pages 138 ref- erences). Mean oceanic concentra- tions. Detection power of flame AAS and ETAAS in the presence of a sea- water matrix.Depth profiles of the elements. Preconcentrations. Re- covery tests. Organisms (e.g. Hg con- tent). Composition of sediments. Airborne Particles and Workplace Atmospheres (41 pages 105 refer- ences). Exposure limits in air. Opti- mum conditions for ETAAS. Particle size dependence. Chromatographic separation and AAS detection for or- ganometallic compounds (Sn Pb As Hg Se and P). Metallic fumes. Foods (35 pages 39 references). Concentration ranges of 2 1 elements in 11 ‘food classes’ determinable by flame and ETA methods. Preparation methods for the individual classes of samples and atomization conditions of specific elements. Ferrous Metallurgy (47 pages 246 references). Raw materials intermedi- ate and final products environmental samples.Routine and special methods for alloying and trace constituents (flame and ETA). Matrix matching for calibration. Hydride generation and determination of Hg. Analysis of lubri- cants and fuels. Solid sampling ETA. Glow discharges for multi-element AAS. Non-Ferrous Metals (12 pages 21 references). Flame AAS conditions for aluminium alloys (9 elements) copper alloys (1 1 elements) nickel-cobalt al- loys (14 elements) lead alloys (1 l elements) and zinc alloys (6 elements). Trace elements (14) in high-purity copper and nickel using quartz-tube atom trap. Applied Geochemistry (3 1 pages 1 5 references). Sample dissolution proce- dures for soils rocks and sediments details of five versions of acid diges- tion. Evolution of tin iodide and hy- dride. Bromination of gold.Fusion. Stabilization for As. Petroleum Industry (36 pages 6 ref- erences). Roles of flame and ETA22N JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL ATOMIC SPECTROMETRY APRIL 1992 VOL. 7 techniques. Organometallic com- pounds for preparation of standards (2 1 elements). Metallic elements in crude and residual fuel oils and unused and used lubricating oils. Lead and Mn in gasoline. Clinical Applications of Flame Tech- niques (20 pages 28 references). ‘Clini- cal’ flame emission instruments for alkali metals. Detailed procedures for Na K Li Ca Mg Cu Zn Pb Cd and Au. Hydride generation (As Se Sb and Bi). Body Fluids and Tissues by ETAAS (57 pages 27 1 references). The nature and control of interference effects. Problems of sample contamination. Oxygen ashing. Physiological element concentrations (9 elements).Thera- peutic elements (Al Pt and Ag) and toxic elements (Pb Cd Be Ni As Hg Sb Te and TI). Forensic Science (23 pages 66 refer- ences). Sampling of biological ma- terials. Freeze drying lowtemperature ashing. Symptoms of poisoning con- centrations in unexposed and exposed tissues for As and TI Analysis of glasses spirits and guns hot residues. Chemicals (51 pages 279 refer- ences). Inorganic fine chemicals and analytical reagents. Preconcentrations evaporation ashing and pyrolysis electrodeposition adsorption ion exchange co-precipitati on solvent ex- traction and vapour generation. Indus- trial chemicals. Impurities in organic compounds. Analysis off catalysts pho- tographic materials semiconductors cosmetics household products fungi- cides drugs paints pigments papers textiles leathers and polymers. Appli- cations in nuclear industry and in archaeology. Polluted Soils (1 1 pages 24 refer- ences). Total and water-soluble con- centrations. Determination of indivi- dual elements Al As Ba Cd Cr Cu Pb Hg Ni and T1. The book is supplemented with a useful Subject Index. T. Khntor L. Eotvos University Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry H- IS 18 Budapest Hungary