This compilation of review papers is an attempt to bring together as a handbook the ‘core information on the varied and diverse aspects that make up the discipline of clay science, ranging from the fundamental structure and surface properties of clays and clay minerals to their industrial and environmental applications’. The attempt is timely not only because information about applied clay mineralogy is widely distributed throughout the literature, but also because there is the belief – at least among the editors of this volume – that clays and clay minerals in their natural or modified forms will be heralded as the material of the twenty-first century as they are abundant, inexpensive and environment friendly. There are 66 authors and 39 review articles arranged into 16 chapters under the editorial guidance of F. Bergaya, B. K. G. Theng and G. Lagaly. The editors themselves are authors of many of the review articles. Each review article has its own list of references, but, rather unhelpfully, does not have an introductory contents list to guide the reader.
The title of the volume suggests that it covers all of clay science; in fact it is heavily slanted towards applied clay mineralogy, particularly those aspects that are fashionable at the moment – acid-activation, catalysts, pillared clays, nanocomposites, fillers, barriers, etc. – whereas soils and the geological aspects are given scant attention. The reviews on the colloidal properties, organic interactions, and surface and interfacial chemistry of clays are of considerable relevance to geologists. There is a paper on the biomineralization of clay that is particularly well illustrated. Amidst the review articles on applied clay science there are papers (Chapter 7.4; Chapters 9, 13–16) that are little related to the main thrust of the book: however interesting, they would have been better omitted. There are some surprising omissions. For example, the discovery and successful synthesis of Laponite, the first synthetic clay of economic importance, is a milestone in applied clay mineralogy. The nature of Laponite and the circumstances of its discovery by Barbara Neumann are surely matters of scientific and historical importance.
A handbook must be easy to use, particularly if it is nearly 2½ kilos in weight. A very comprehensive index or series of indexes is a must, otherwise a simple enquiry becomes a major task with 1196 pages to search through. Unfortunately the index is woefully inadequate. Some headings (e.g. bentonite, interlayer space, kaolinite) have 50 or more entries with no indication to which topics individual entries refer. This is a general failing throughout the index and detracts seriously from the usefulness of this book.
The Handbook of Clay Science can be recommended with reservation to professional applied clay mineralogists as well as those teaching or researching at postgraduate level.
