The ready acceptance and wide demand for copies of the first two volumes
of Chemical Mutagens: Principles and Methods Jar Their Detection have
demon- strated the need for wider dissemination of information on this
timely and urgent subject. Therefore, it was imperative that a third
volume be prepared to include more detailed discussions on techniques of
some of the methods that were presented from a theoretical point of view
in the first two volumes, and to update this rapidly expanding field
with current findings and the new developments that have taken place in
the past three years. Also included is a special chapter by Dr.
Charlotte Auerbach giving the historical background of the discovery of
chemical mutagenesis. Methods for recognizing mutagenic compounds in
vitro are a necessary preliminary step toward arriving at satisfactory
solutions for recognizing significant mutation rates in man, which must
be done before our test- tube methods of detection can be considered
reliable. Two chapters in this volume make important contributions to
this problem. Due to the increasing activity in efforts to perfect
techniques for detecting chemical mutagens and their effects on man, it
is planned to continue this series of volumes as necessary to keep
abreast of current findings.