May (U. of Bristol, UK) and some chemist drinking buddies pondered the more unusual names of molecules. Presenting the contents of his website cataloguing such names, he traces the origins of some 250 molecule, mineral, protein, enzyme, and gene names including: erotic acid (not an aphrodisiac), spamol (an anti- spasmodic), DAMN (acronym for diaminaleonitrile), penguinone (after the shape of its chemical structure), and Clintonite (no relation to the former president). The book is educational and entertaining but lacks an index. Distributed by World Scientific. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
