Wiley: Chichester, UK, 2000. xxv + 307 pp. Paperback: ISBN 0-471-99901-6. $55.00.

This book provides guidance to analytical practitioners regarding the use of instrument performance criteria when making purchase decisions and when pursuing solutions to real-life instrumentation problems. The premise of this work is that it is important to understand in some detail the features and limitations of modern instruments as expressed in standard measures of performance such as accuracy, precision, linear dynamic range, and limit of detection. Separate sections of the book explore the fundamentals of these performance criteria and the application of these criteria to specific instruments or components. The end result is presentation in depth of the use of such criteria.

The book is organized into four groupings of chapters. The first chapters define and explore the major performance criteria and associated statistics. A second set of chapters looks at the application of these criteria to broad types of analytical measurement: UV-visible spectroscopy, atomic spectroscopy, chromatography, etc. The third set of chapters dissect individual instruments more explicitly, at the component level (e.g. separate chapters on HPLC, GC, and capillary electrophoresis). A final group of chapters look at fundamental principles such as signals, noise sources, and convolution. The flow among these groups isn't smooth and connected, but useful material is found in all four sections.

The reader of this text should have had a course in instrumental analysis. The tight specific focus on performance criteria requires the reader to have a broad prior exposure to analytical instrumentation. The value of this text is in adding an extra level of depth on specific topics that affect analytical performance. A reader who wishes to understand performance criteria and associated statistics in depth or to understand how common instrument components limit performance will find this book useful.

The book is part of a new Analytical Techniques in the Sciences series, which speaks to a broader audience than the similar earlier series, Analytical Chemistry by Open Learning. The open-learning style is still used; discussion questions and self-assessment questions (SAQs) are included throughout each chapter. Although earlier texts in this style sometimes felt awkward to read and use, this one reads smoothly. Questions traditionally left for an end-of-chapter section are simply inserted at appropriate places throughout the text. Since full answers are provided for all questions in the text, these questions are more useful than the traditional end-of-chapter list of questions. One caution: the answer to SAQ 3.2 uses nonstandard interpretations of accuracy and precision.

The stated aims of the author are to deepen the reader's understanding of performance criteria, for use in purchasing the best instrument, confirming ongoing performance of instruments, and understanding uncertainty in analytical measurements. For the most part, the book achieves these goals and is a worthy addition to the bookshelf of any analytical chemist who routinely uses performance criteria.