The ability to design effective syntheses is an essential skill for organic chemists. This valuable text uses a wide range of examples to teach students of chemistry how to adopt a logical and versatile approach to the design of synthetic routes. The concept of retrosynthetic analysis - a means for identifying simple starting materials for a synthesis - is first introduced with emphasis on the importance of bond polarity and functional group interconversions. The next section describes how an effective route to a target molecule containing more than one functional group can be elucidated, and gives useful strategies to adopt when designing syntheses. Later chapters review methods for the control of chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivity, and include a discussion of protecting groups. Finally, four syntheses of the pyrrolidine alkaloids are compared and contrasted using the principles described in the book. Practice examples are provided throughout, making this concise text an invaluable study aid for all undergraduate chemists.
