Steric effects in biomolecules edited by G. Náray‐Szabo

energies of the various idealized geometries. The possible chemical coordination polyhedra for that coordination number are then discussed. This discussion, which occasionally extends over two chapters, takes account of variations in ligand type, multidentate-ligand character, and the effects of mixing ligand types. Points in these discussions are amply illustrated by the repulsion-energy plots referred to above, by extensive tabular data from the structural literature, and by carefully chosen structural diagrams. Exceptional structures are identified, and important types of structural distortions, such as the trans influence and the Jahn-Teller effect, are taken into account. Taken in its entirety, this book makes a strong case for the viability of the repulsion approach to stereochemistry. The relatively simple repulsion model clearly has the advantage of allowing ready correlation of structural data for inorganic compounds involving a variety of central atoms and ligand species. The reader interested in a systematic understanding of inorganic stereochemistry will find this work very valuable. The wealth of information (tables with references, repulsion-energy diagrams, structural drawings) presented makes the book useful as a reference source. However, the successful synthesis of structural facts with the repulsion model makes the book's value extend beyond mere reference use. The careful and systematic discussion of possible stereochemistries, together with their structural and energetic relationships, can be extremely helpful in identifying and rationalizing seemingly complicated, unusual, and/or distorted stereochemistries. Careful perusal of the ideas set forth here should also aid the reader immensely in making rational predictions of stereochemistry in other systems of interest.