With these two volumes Leonello Paoloni, Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Palermo, President of the Gruppo Nazionale di Fondamenti e Storia della Chimica, and dean of Italian historians of chemistry, concludes his series of four volumes devoted to the correspondence and writings by and about Stanislao Cannizzaro (1826-1910), the Italian chemist, revolutionary, educational reformer, and statesman, best known for the Cannizzaro reaction of aldehydes and his introduction of Avogadro's hypothesis to an international audience at the Karlsruhe Congress (1860). For a discussion of Cannizzaro and his scientific and political career as well as a review of the first two volumes (letters from 1857-1868) see Kauffman, G. B. J. Chem. Educ. 1994, 71, A262. All four volumes are also available on Microsoft Word on Macintosh.

Both the third and fourth volumes (Quaderni 4 and 5) are in large print with generous margins, and both contain detailed indexes of all names mentioned in the correspondence and notes. The first chapter of the third volume (42 pp) gives a summary of Cannizzaro's life and pertinent events during the period 1868-1872, the years of his later tenure at the Universitˆ di Palermo and his move to the Universitˆ di Roma. The second chapter (310 pp) lists and presents 212 annotated letters, most in Italian with a few in French and English, alphabetically arranged according to the names of the correspondents.

The final volume contains 106 annotated letters, most in Italian with a few in French, which are integrated into the four chapters that also include various documents. Chapter 1 (154 pp) is devoted to political and historical events as well as correspondence and writings, including Cannizzaro's inaugural oration (Palermo, 1863) and electoral manifesto (Palermo, 1865). Chapter 2 (99 pp) presents four of Cannizzaro's discourses on atomic theory--the first of the eight lectures of his famous Sunto (1858); Faraday lecture (London, 1872); lecture to the XII Congresso degli Scienziati Italiani (Palermo, 1875); and Copley Medal address (Rome, 1891). Chapter 3 (41 pp) includes miscellaneous correspondence (1861-1897), while Chapter 4 (26 pp) documents the transfer of the bodies of Cannizzaro and his wife from Rome to Palermo (1926). Four appendices (38 pp) contain papers from Cannizzaro's personal record (1869-1875); fragment of a manuscript on the toxicity of lead dissolved in various drinking waters; personal data on Cannizzaro, his family, and heirs; and an anonymous playful poem in Sicilian dialect (with Italian translation) dedicated to Cannizzaro and a biography from the daily newspaper Fanfulla (Jan. 19, 1872).

Paoloni deserves the thanks of the chemical community for chronicling the life and contributions of one of Italy's greatest scientists.