Announcements of New Books

ANNOUNCEMENTS OF NEW BOOKS An Atlas of Histology. By Johannes A. G. Rhodin. New York: Oxford University Press, Spring 1975. Pp. 450. Illus. $12.50. All the high-quality illustrations, with captions, from Professor Rhodin's text, Hhtology: A Text and Atlas, have been reproduced in this authoritative atlas. The microanatomy of mammalian structure is analyzed by light and transmission electron microscopy with progressive increases in magnification from light microscope levels to low, medium, and high magnification levels in the transmission electron microscope. Behavioral Pharmacology. By Susan D. Iversen and Leslie L. Iversen. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, February 1975. Pp. 275. Illus. Bibliog . Index. $10.95 (cloth); $5.95 (paper). The effects of drugs on behavior are placed within the framework of classical and operant conditioning in this text. A concise description of the principles and techniques for the analysis of behavior and of drug actions in the central nervous system is followed by a detailed study of the various classes of psychopharmacologic agents. Behavioral Toxicology. Edited by Bernard Weiss and Victor G. Laties. New York: Plenum Press, 1975. Pp. 445 (approx.). Illus. Tables. Bibliog. Index. $39.50. This volume presents expert analyses on the effects ofenvironmental pollutants and drugs on behavior and performance. Leading scientists examine such topics as prenatal exposure of mice to methylmercury, effects of carbon monoxide on both humans and lower animals, effects of pesticides on behavior, and the ototoxicity of antibiotics. ChemicalContraception. Columbia Series in Molecular Biology. ByJoHN P. Bennett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1974. Pp. 272. Illus. Index. $20.00. A concise, comprehensive, well-documented review of contemporary knowledge in an important area of fertility control, from the earliest efforts at chemical regulation to the pill and more recent discoveries. Dr. Bennett concludes with a valuable analysis of current problems and future prospects in the search for new and better contraceptives. A Dictionary of Genetics, 2d ed., rev. Edited by Robert C. King. New York: Oxford University Press, December 1974. Pp. 378. Illus. Bibliog. $5.95 (paper). A valuable tool for students of biology, medicine, and related fields, providing Announcements of New Books concise definitions of some 5,000 terms frequently encountered in the genetics literature. In this revised second edition supplementary material has been considerably expanded. A new appendix lists human chromosomal properties. Electric Current Flow in Excitable CelL·. ByJ. J. B.Jack, D. Noble, and R. W. Tsien. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, April 1975. Pp. 507. Illus. Bibliog. Index. $45.00. A systematic account of the mathematical aspects of electrical excitation in nerve and muscle cells, this volume presents cable theory and nonlinear excitation theory in a readily accessible form. Topics range from elementary electrical properties of cells to ionic mechanisms, the initiation and conduction of impulses , and repetitive firing. The Genetic Basis of Evolutionary Change. By R. C. Lewontin. New York: Columbia University Press, 1974. Pp. 352. Illus. Bibliog. Index. $12.50 (cloth); $4.50 (paper). In this beautifully written volume, Professor Lewontin surveys the many experiments using new molecular techniques that have revealed the immense wealth of hereditary variation among individuals and have quantified the genetic changes that take place in the origin of new species. This pathbreaking study will surely become one of the landmarks in twentieth-century science. Genetics of Flowering Plants. By Verne Grant. New York: Columbia University Press, 1975. Pp. 496. Illus. Index. $20.00. In this new book, noted botanist Verne Grant explains the nature and action of genes and gene systems in the higher plants. The book is a natural complement to his earlier Origin ofAdaptations and Plant Speciation and is, like them, a substantial contribution to botany. A Handbookfor the Study ofSuicide. Edited by Seymour Perlin. New York: Oxford University Press, January 1975. Pp. 240. Illus. Bibliog. Index. $9.95 (cloth); $5.95 (paper). This book presents a wide range of information on suicide from the perspective of many disciplines. From a historical, literary, and philosophical background it proceeds to the social sciences and to a balanced psychiatric discussion ofsuicidal behavior. The volume offers a modern view of rational motivation to commit suicide that differs from the traditional psychiatric position that all suicides represent psychopathology. A...