book reviews secondary and tertiary alcohols t o olefins. Medium-size ring ketones, first prepared in minute amounts many decades ago by Ruzicka, have become available in quantity by ring contraction starting with inexpensive cyclododecanone. Finally, as in previous volumes of Organic Syntheses, unchecked procedures are tahulated a t the end of this volume. This volume of Organic Syntheses is well up t o what chemists have come t o expect from this series and is a credit t o Dr. Biichi. I t is essential that science and chemistry Libraries acquire this and subsequent volumes as they appear and not wait until the collective volumes become available. Hassan S. El Khadem Michian Techno&ical University Houghton 4993 t
Stereochemlstry of Heterocyclic Compounds. Parts 1 and 2
W. L. F. Armarego, The Australian National University. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1977. xvi 433 pages. Figures and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. 539.95. (Volume 1) avii + 494 pages. Figures and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 em. $43.50. (Volume 2)
+
These two volumes on the stereochemistry of heterocyclic compounds belong t o a series on general aspects of heterocyclic chemistry and constitute the first volumes that attempt to review the stereochemistry of heterocyclic systems separately and with a systematic format. The main intent of these monographs is to give an overview and t o function as guides into the literature on this subject. Part 1 is devoted t o nitrogen heterocycles and part 2 to oxygen, sulfur, phosphorus heterocycles and mixed systems containing nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. The subject matter in all chapters and sections of chapters is compartmentalized. In the first subsection, stereochemical aspects of synthesis of the system are described. Following this are subsections on eanfiguration and conformation of the hetercqcle. The last part covers stereochemistry of reactions. The first chanter is the same for both oarts 1 and 2 and serves as an intnxluctim 18, the sterewhm%try of heterurycli~sbstems. The tint volume Wan 1) uwenng nmugen heterocycles is arranged according to ring size. I t commences with threemembered rings and ends with seven- and larger-memhered rings. The chapter on three-, four-, and five-membered heterocycles is in general very well-covered and major systems discussed are aziridines, azetidines, and pyrrolidines. Chapter 3 is devoted to the stereochemistry of six-membered rings and is the largest chapter in Part 1. The coverage is comprehensive. I t includes piperidines and reduced heterocycles derived from pyridazines, pyrimidines, pyrazines, and fused ring systems. Also nresent is a discussion of the confor-
of photodimers derived from some sixmembered heterocycles. The last part of this chapter mentions a number of six-membered aromatic nitrogen heterocycles in which steA348 / Journal of Chemical Education
reochemical properties such as crowding, restricted rotation and asvmmetrv in the side chain are important. The tw
