Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis [Paperback]

Laszlo Kurti (Author), Barbara Czako (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0124297854 | ISBN-13: 978-0124297852 | Publication Date: March 18, 2005 | Edition: 1

Kurti and Czako have produced an indispensable tool for specialists and non-specialists in organic chemistry. This innovative reference work includes 250 organic reactions and their strategic use in the synthesis of complex natural and unnatural products. Reactions are thoroughly discussed in a convenient, two-page layout--using full color. Its comprehensive coverage, superb organization, quality of presentation, and wealth of references, make this a necessity for every organic chemist.

* The first reference work on named reactions to present colored schemes for easier understanding
* 250 frequently used named reactions are presented in a convenient two-page layout with numerous examples
* An opening list of abbreviations includes both structures and chemical names
* Contains more than 10,000 references grouped by seminal papers, reviews, modifications, and theoretical works
* Appendices list reactions in order of discovery, group by contemporary usage, and provide additional study tools
* Extensive index quickly locates information using words found in text and drawings

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...no other book covers the subject of named reactions in such an up-to-date and comprehensive way, ranging from mechanisms to applications. Despite it's minor weaknesses, I recommend this book most emphatically to interested chemists as a work of reference and source of inspiration."
-Siegfried R. Waldvogel, University of Bonn, Germany, in ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE, WOL. 44, 2005

"This book is outstanding in every way, being polished in presentation, sufficiently detailed in explaining the reactions, and possessing almost encyclopedic indexing and referencing."
-JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION

"The book would be invaluable to many chemists, students, professors and industrial chemists. Not only will it serve as a text for name reactions, but it is also a review of important mechanisms and an invaluable reference book...It will definitely have a place in the collection of books that are used regularly by all chemists."
-Madeleine Joullie, University of Pennsylvania

"It is an impressive modern treatise of many important chemical reactions; it was created with great care, and I congratulate the authors on the outstanding contribution that they are making to the literature of organic chemistry...There are several books on 'named reactions', but this one is already my favorite..."
-Erik Sorensen, Princeton University, from the Foreword

"Beyond introducing the fundamental chemical conversion typical for venerable organic name reaction, this text excels by a clear coverage of mechanisms and superb contemporary examples including an extensive and uptodate list of references."
-Peter Wipf, University of Pittsburgh

"The vast wealth of information so effectively compiled in this colorful text will not only prove to be extraordinarily useful to students and practitioners of the art of chemical synthesis, but will also help facilitate the shaping of its future as it moves forward into ever higher levels of complexity, diversity and efficiency."
- K.C. Nicolaou, from the Introduction

"This extraordinary book was written especially for students by graduate students, but it is far more professional. Named reactions and processes are very important to the field of synthetic organic chemistry, and this book contains 250 of them. This book greatly advances the description of both the art and science of chemical synthesis. Suitable for anyone concerned with organic synthesis.
Summing up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals; two-year technical program students.
R.E. Buntrock, formerly, University of
Maine, CHOICE, Sep. 2006, Vol. 44 No. 01

Book Description

The most advanced organic reaction reference work ever written, including 250 extensive color reactions, hundreds of examples and thousands of references, in an organized user-friendly format.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 1 edition (March 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0124297854
• ISBN-13: 978-0124297852
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

László Kürti was born and raised in Hungary. He received his Diploma from Lajos Kossuth University (now University of Debrecen) where he conducted research in the laboratory of Professor Sándor Antus focusing on the total synthesis of benzofuranoid neolignans. Subsequently he received his Master of Science degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia, working with Professor Michael Harmata on inter- and intramolecular [4+3]-cycloadditions of halogen-substituted oxoallylic cations, and his Ph.D. degree (2006) in synthetic organic chemistry under the supervision of Professor Amos B. Smith III at the University of Pennsylvania where he developed a new method for the construction of highly substituted and strained indoles that was applied in the synthetic studies toward the construction of the complex indole diterpenoid natural products, nodulisporic acids A and B.
While still in graduate school, he authored the now popular textbook/reference book "Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis" with Barbara Czakó that is now used in dozens of academic institutions and research laboratories worldwide.
Since 2006 László has been a Damon Runyon Cancer Fellow in the group of Professor E.J. Corey at Harvard University where he is working on the development of potent antiangiogenic agents inspired by the structure of Cortistatin A. In 2007 he co-authored the book "Molecules and Medicine" with Professor E.J. Corey and Dr. Barbara Czakó. In February 2008, the Professional and Scholarly Division of the American Association of Publishers designated Molecules and Medicine "Best of Physical Sciences and Mathematics". At the beginning of 2009 László and Prof. Corey began working on "Enantioselective Chemical Synthesis". The book has been published on October 1, 2010 by Direct Book Publishing.

In September 2010, László joined the faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas Tx as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry.
Besides doing wet chemistry in the lab and writing textbooks/reference books, in his free time László travels all over the world and enjoys learning about other cultures and people. So far he has visited 25 countries on five continents and 24 states in the US.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for an organic chemist's book-shelf!!!, March 17, 2005

By 

Santhosh F. Neelamkavil (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis (Paperback)

Learning organic chemistry has always been about acquiring a comprehensive knowledge of chemical behavior and with this as the backdrop, to consider the principles, theoretical and mechanistical basis of the subject. In this context, the named reactions in organic chemistry provide one with a historical feel for the subject, is an easy tool to remember the myriad functional group transformations and thus create a love for this fascinating chemistry.

When I saw this book by Laszlo and Barbara, I was just amazed at the amount of labor that has gone into producing, what I believe, is one of the finest books ever written on named reactions in organic chemistry. It is not just another name reactions book, as it can also be considered a reaction mechanisms book, since the authors have drawn out elaborately, the mechanistic schemes / reaction pathways for every single reaction and you wouldn't believe, it lists a multitude of 250 named reactions! What strikes me most is that this book can cater to anybody, from an undergraduate who is trying to learn and love the art of Organic chemistry to a graduate student who is trying to learn complicated reaction mechanisms and also to chemists with a MS or PhD who want to strategically apply these in synthetic reactions.

One of the many salient points of this book, which I really liked, is the way references have been treated. It has been classified into reviews, seminal publications and applications. So a reader doesn't have to delve through a large number of refs in the library and find out what he likes. Every name reaction has its historical background listed, followed by the mechanism, drawn with differing / appealing colors for the appropriate bond disconnections, and finally synthetic applications; and take my word, the authors have taken pains to show the latest and most appropriate synthetic applications that have appeared in the scientific literature.

No wonder then that two of the living giants of modern synthetic chemistry (E. J. Corey & K. C. Nicolaou) have written the introduction and foreword to this beautiful book, which outshines and outdoes every name reactions book previously written.

Hearty congratulations to the authors for this marvelous effort and I would highly recommend this book to everyone who hold organic chemistry dear to their heart!!!!!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read as well as reference, March 11, 2006

By 

Gabriel Weatherhead - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis (Paperback)

Let me preface this review with: I have a huge library of chemistry related books, of which books relating to name reactions has a prominent footprint. With that said, this is one of the most readable of its kind. Before this, I enjoyed the Jie-Jack Li name reaction book. However, as with all of them, it was just a reference manual. Kurti's, however, is a well thought out "text" with background on each reaction and color coded mechanisms. It is an excellent book for both beginners and PI's. Sick as it may sound, I actually purchsed a second copy for home as well as the office. My conclusion is that this is one of maybe 3 name reaction books that make a complete reference set.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the BEST book on the subject "Named Reactions", August 12, 2005

By 

Yann Laot (Paris, FRANCE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis (Paperback)

Other books on this subject often are equal and contain the same amount of information : a very short mecanism and a list of 5-6 references. That's all, so you have to search the references in order to have more information.
This book works completely differently : there is an "historical introduction" - often very instructive because the discovery was unintended - then a complete mechanism and a illustration of the reaction as a key step in a recent synthesis. This last point is very valuable because it shows all the importance of the concerned reaction. Finally the references are classified between articles, reviews, books, ... So it's very useful to find quickly the best reference ...

In a word it's really an excellent book and it's worth the money!