SINCE the first studies of crystal structures were made by the Braggs in 1913, there has been an ever-increasing flow of structure analyses carried out, first by the X-ray method alone, and later in addition by other techniques. For some time, while investigators-largely physicists-were exploring the possibilities of the new science and establishing the sound basis of technique without which the achievements of later times would not have been possible, the choice of substances for study was, from the point of view of the chemist, mineralogist or metallurgist, with notable exceptions, determined largely by fortuitous circumstances. In the years immediately preceding the Second World War, however, a growing majority of structural investigations were clearly undertaken, if not as integral parts of chemical or other researches, at least with the aim of extending knowledge of specific chemical topics rather than as ends in themselves ; while, equally important, a large proportion of chemists had learnt to appreciate the significance of structure analysis and were influenced by its results in their attitude to teaching and research. One outcome of this mutual interaction between structure analysis and the older sciences has been the appearance of various monographs, and, to a lesser extent, the adoption of a new 'slant' in the treatment of old subjects in less specialized works; but it was probably true to say that no text-book of inorganic chemistry showed a complete assimilation of the results and implications of the new subject. Structural Inorganic Chemistry By Dr. A. F. Wells. Pp. viii + 590. (Oxford: Clarendon Press; London: Oxford University Press, 1945.) 25s. net.