Choice Review

This second edition includes valuable new material and updates to the authors' excellent first edition (1985), which for ten years has been the only work that applies thermodynamics specifically to geochemistry. Practical examples and applications range from low to high temperature and pressure, and environmental relevance is stressed throughout. Basic concepts and principles that are most useful to geochemistry are emphasized, especially those that are commonly shortchanged or neglected in traditional chemistry courses (e.g., phase rule, solid solutions, mixed aqueous electrolytes, and chemical potential diagrams). Sections on silicate melts, retrieval of thermodynamic data from phase-equilibrium experiments, electrolyte theory, and compiling and evaluating thermodynamic data have been revised and updated; new sections on electrolyte behavior at high temperatures and pressures, and thermobarometry applied to igneous and metamorphic rocks, have been added. A new chapter on geochemical modeling and a new appendix with selected thermodynamic data of geochemical interest are valuable additions. This updated version should guarantee the continued use of the authors' work in the teaching of geochemical thermodynamics. Furthermore, it is without question the best available compilation of thermodynamic concepts and data relevant to geochemistry. Graduate; faculty; professional. M. E. McCallum; Colorado State University