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Price k11.90. ISBN 0 47 10494 5.As analysis is fundamentally concerned with the extraction and conveyance of information there is a natural interest amongst analytical chemists in information theory. An increasing number of papers on the subject are appearing in analytical journals, but most of them are difficult t o read and/or comprehend; the reader is often left reflecting on the paradox that information theory appears to be incommunicable.Thus, it is with great expectation that the reader will approach this book, co-authored by Eclrschlager, whose book on "Errors, Measurements and Results in Analytical Chemistry" is so clear, concise and useful. Unfortunately, the first sentence dampens enthusiasm, "Analytical chemistry, the scientific discipline representing theoretical grounds for chemical and physicochemical analyses of the composition of matter. . . ." This is followed later in the introduction by "All information theory is based on the notion that information and uncertainty are synonymous." Obviously, the reader has to work to put the text into context. There follow 100 pages of brief mathematical introduction to the concepts used in information theory. The presentation will not be understood by those who finished their mathematical education before new mathematics became part of the curriculum. Those more up t o date will find the treatment too cursory, indeed a t times absurdly so; 3 pages for simplex optimisation and 4 pages for pattern recognition procedures. The concluding 60 pages or so consist of a review of analytical applications of information theory. This covers a lot of ground in a fairly sketchy manner, although there is a useful selection of references.There is a good book struggling to get out of these pages; with editing, a more didactic approach and better selection of practical examples, it would have found a wide readership. As it stands, the authors have failed to identify their audience clearly so that both beginners and experts alike will be disappointed with the outcome whilst applauding the effort of the authors in breaking new ground.D. BETTERIDGE MODERN SIZE-EXCLUSIOX LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY. PRACTICE OF GEL PERMEATION AXD GEL By W.

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