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One is tempted to compare this volume with the Proceedings of the Canberra Symposium on Phase Transformations and the Earth's Interior which appeared as Vol. 3 in the same journal. It then appears that the volume under review here is less well balanced, and the different subjects are not sufficiently interrelated, often suffering from a lack of factual background.Even so, a number of interesting papers have been brought together. Of these we note the introductory paper by Jacobs on the origin of the Earth's core. While Jacobs maybe relies too heavily on Runcorn's theories of whole-mantle convection while the Earth's core is continuously growing, his contribution is otherwise quite readable. Another review paper by Lee on the global variations of terrestrial heat-flow is useful, although most of the data and discussion have already appeared in earlier papers by the same author. Oliver brings together a lot of geophysical information on the structure and evolution of mobile seismic belts, resulting in a striking picture, presented in terms of the new global tectonics.Several other contributions are related to magnetic and paleomagnetic data, whereas other papers are concerned mainly with the effect of variable geothermal gradients on certain properties of the Earth and vice versa. All in all, this is a volume of rather uneven quality, though geophysicists interested in global tectonics or the internal structure of the Earth cannot afford not to read it. Technically the volume is well presented.This book contains the lectures delivered at the above mentioned symposium. The aim of this symposium was to compare recently obtained experimental results with theoretical work on atmospheric models. The greater part of the book concerns the composition, the temperature, and the dynamics of the mesosphere. An important part is devoted to the role of minor constituents like ozone, nitrie oxide and hydrogen. Concentrations of these minor constituents have an important influence on the heat balance of different regions of the atmosphere.Chemical reactions and the absorption of ultraviolet radiation which govern these concentrations are dealt with by several competent authors. A number of laboratory investigations on this subject are also presented. Temperature profiles depending on latitude and seasons, and their interdependence with heat balance and general circulation belong also to important subjects.A few lectures are devoted to the measurements of ion composition and ion densities in the ionospheric D region. The book offers a lot of up-to-date information.

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