Review by Choice Review
Witten (Univ. of Chicago) and Pincus (Univ. of California, Santa Barbara) have, in large part, written another book on colloid and interface science; it is difficult to distinguish this book from the many other books in that area. Although it is probably true that the authors put additional focus on the polymer and surfactant area of this subject, the book does not stand out in a specific way. The book lacks the structure and "ease of reading" of other works in that area. In many situations, Witten and Pincus have incorporated equations and other mathematical relations into the book; and this does not help with following and understanding the concepts--rather, it becomes more difficult. Overall, the missing structure in the text (individual paragraphs) as well as the lack in connecting subject areas, are the main points of criticism. In addition, the book has no problems-and-questions sections in each chapter, and real life (practical) examples are only scarcely incorporated. Thus, given the availability of numerous (better) books in that field, this is not a book for academic libraries. ^BSumming Up: Not recommended. H. Giesche Alfred University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
