THE REST IS SILENCE The Chemistry of Death W. E. D. Evans (Springfield, Illinois, U.S.A., 1963, C. C . Thomas, 101 pp., 4.75 dollars)

The Chemistry of Death is one of the latest additions to the well-known "American Lecture Series" published by Thomas, of Illinois. The title is an accurate description of the contents of the book, which deals with the various chemical, physical and biological processes which take place in dead tissues.

The changes which take place in the dead body have always aroused the interest of man. Some of the earlier observations were clouded by superstition, and this was apparent even at the end of the eighteenth century. On the practical side, however, there were two objectives which pertain even to-day, firstly, how to arrest decomposition in order to preserve the deceased in recog- nisable form, and, secondly, how to preserve animal tissues in an edible state, so that their season might be prolonged. I t is not surprising that in recent times much work has been done on the latter.

The whole subject is vast and research has been carried out not only by large food-preserving interests and public health authorities, but also by clinical pathologists as a means of diagnosis of pulmonary and myocardial infarcts, by morbid anatomists who wish to study tissue such as brain, which commences to autolyse within a short time of death, and by forensic pathologists and chemists who are trying to give the timing of death a more scientific basis. In recent years, with the rapid advances in all forms of scientific apparatus and improved techniques, much more critical research has been possible.

The author has dealt with each group of investigations historically before dealing with the recent advances. By incorporating eight pages of references, he has been able to cover the field in a remarkably concise monograph. The reader's interest is maintained from cover to cover, and those who wish to pursue any section further have merely to refer to the references.

Dr. Evans is well known as a forensic pathologist who for many years has taken a special interest in post-mortem changes, and this is reflected in many references to his personal observations contained in this text. This book fills a gap in the literature on Forensic Medicine and Science and will be welcomed and appreciated by all whose forensic activities include the examination of post-mortem tissues.

A. Keith Mant

PREVALENT FAILURE Fatigue of Metals P. G. Forrest (Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1962, 425 pp., 701-)

Perhaps the most surprising thing about metal fatigue is that, despite the vast amount of effort expended over many years on research and writing about the subject, it remains by far the most prevalent mode of failure. In too many cases engineering components fracture by fatigue because of bad design when their failure could have been anticipated and prevented had the designer been made aware of the problem. I t is possible then to justify yet another book on this subject on no firmer grounds than that it is one that cannot be too widely advertised. Yet this is not just another book on fatigue, for it will shine in comparison with most others on the subject, having been written by an acknow- ledged expert with years of experience in this field. I t is written in a convincing style and the quality of production is up to the usual high standards that one associates with the publishers.

After an introduction which defines the problem and deals with its recognition and detection, there follows a chapter on test methods, including statistical analysis of the results. The fatigue strength of various metals and the effect of stress parameters are dealt with in subsequent chapters, followed by con- sideration of the effects of surface treatments, corrosion and temperature.

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