Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews
edited by
Jeffrey Kovac University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
Name Reactions: A Collection of Detailed Reaction Mechanisms by Jie Jack Li Springer Verlag: Berlin, 2002. 434 pp. ISBN 3-540-43024-5. $79.95. reviewed by D. G. J. Young
Name Reactions is an alphabetized collection of more than 300 organic mechanisms employing the curved arrow formalism. The original references are supplemented by modern variations and developments through 2001. There is no text, only references to the original literature from as early as the 19th century, interspersed with short commentary. This is an excellent practice book for arrow pushing and learning organic name reactions as encountered in graduate school. (The author notes he began accruing name reactions at precisely that time.) Stereochemistry is depicted clearly,
but there is some muddle due to mechanistic arrows overlapping with structures. In general, arrows are accurate right down to equilibrium versus unidirectional reactions. Li’s book contains reactions of all mechanistic classes: free radicals, cationic, and anionic as well as carbenoid mechanisms. Reactions such as sigmatropic shifts and the Diels–Alder reaction are addressed. Heterocycle synthesis is strongly represented and some reagents, for example, the Burgess reagent and Davis’ chiral oxaziridine, are included. The book is nicely balanced, containing modern-day reactions for assembly of stereocomplex molecules. Reactions such as the Corey–Bakshi–Shibata reduction are analyzed. This book is a good reference text and fills a void that has existed for some time. It is both an excellent tool for learning and a good reference source. D. G. J. Young is in the Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1600;
[email protected] JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 80 No. 6 June 2003 • Journal of Chemical Education
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