This book will strengthen the knowledge of mechanistic organic chemistry for organic chemists who have completed a bachelor’s degree and want to start researching in a laboratory or working in a chemical company.

Hardly ever does an organic synthesis advance according to plan. Diligently designed synthetic schemes stumble upon the laboratory reality of meagre yields, side reactions, and unwanted products. To fight against that we have a magnificent intellectual tool: reaction mechanisms.

In the course of an undergraduate degree, the student assimilates an assortment of unadorned reaction mechanisms, when in professional practice she/he needs to envision convoluted mechanisms resulting from the sequential operation of simple steps. The student here is like the novice chess player who knows how to move the pieces, but not how to play the game. This book facilitates that learning in mechanistic organic chemistry, a fundamental apprenticeship for the preparation of new drugs that save millions of lives.