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The second volume of the classic among the reference-books in chemistry wi~s just published as part of a series of six volumes from 1989 to 1992. The appreciation which the ROMPP received during a long period of eight editions is doe to the clcarly understandable language of the respective one author (ROYPP. UHLEIN, NEUMWUER) and the huge amount of information included meanwhile into the six volumes. At the first glance it can be noticed t h a t the publisher responded immediately to comments and criticism after having delivered the first volume: the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) numbers have been inserted for all substances, most of the entries, but not ill1 were translated into English, French, Italian and Spanish. Thus, the flexibility of the publisher can be expected to react to the reader's requirements and wishes during the edition of the next four volumes without interfering thc overall conception. Several terms have been included which come from the steadily growing fields of life sciences, biotechnology, environmental protection and chemical industry. I n this way, the R~~M P P is a reflection of the fast development of chemistry and related sciences. Moreover, the 9th edition gives a foretaste to the ROEMPP BIOTECHNO-LOGIE LEXIKOR' which is expected in 1991.The involvement of more than 30 authors into the rcvising and updating work enhances undoubdedly the scientific level of the contributions. On the other hand, in some cases the authors failed to achieve a likewise lucid and simple description of the entries. As a n example, it is extremely difficult to follow the explanation of several terms on molecular biology, immunology and endocrinology. The entries "colony-stimulating factor" and "epidermal growth factor" are hardly understandable for non-specialists. It can be clearly seen that several entries have not been revised and concentrated (Dampfdruck), other entries should be eliminated from a chemistry-related book (Fische, Geschlechtskrankheiten, Euphorie, Epilepsie, Fieber, Grippe etc.). The authors are seemingly disunited as concerns the use of English and Germnn terminology; for "colony-stimulating factor" a german translation is missed, instead of "Einzellerprotein" the authors prefer "SCP' (Single Cell Protein). instead of "Aufarbeitung" "down-stream processing". Should not "dead-end pathway" have a german translation? The ROXPP is ti reference-book not only for chemists. The carefully designed and printed 9th edition applies to il (Lxtended circle of users in scientific, industrial and govcrnmentnl institutions. I t should not be missed in libraries of life sciences and engineering.B. NAGEL

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