Classics in Total Synthesis: Targets, Strategies, Methods (Paperback)

~ (Author), E. J. Sorensen (Author) "The Strychnos species, indigenous to the rain forests of the Southeast Asian archipelagos and the Coromandel Coast of India, harbor the notorious poison strychnine (1)..." (more)
Key Phrases: acetoxythioacetal function, hydroxy epoxide cyclization, conventional functional group manipulations, New York, Tetrahedron Lett, Academic Press (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book is a must for every synthetic chemist. With didactic skill and clarity, K. C. Nicolaou and E. Sorensen present the most remarkable and ingenious total syntheses from outstanding synthetic organic chemists.

To make the complex strategies more accessible, especially to the novice, each total synthesis is analyzed retrosynthetically. The authors then carefully explain each synthetic step and give hints on alternative methods and potential pitfalls. Numerous references to useful reviews and the original literature make this book an indispensable source of further information.

Special emphasis is placed on the skillful use of graphics and schemes: Retrosynthetic analyses, reaction sequences, and stereochemically crucial steps are presented in boxed sections within the text. For easy reference, key intermediates are also shown in the margins.

Graduate students and researchers alike will find this book a gold mine of useful information essential for their daily work. Every synthetic organic chemist will want to have a copy on his or her desk.

From the Publisher

This book is first to cover in detail the syntheses, reactions, and physical properties of nitrocarbons. Examples from the group of other, as yet unknown nitrocarbons are also discussed. It further includes a very complete survey of all published literature on the subject.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 821 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-VCH (December 16, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3527292314
• ISBN-13: 978-3527292318
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #408,333 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classics in Total Synthesis Revisited, February 9, 2002

By	Matthew M. Yau "Voracious reader" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The more I read and study out from the book, the more I appreciate the beauty of it. Nicolaou and Sorensen's Classics in Total Synthesis is the most widely consulted title on organic synthesis. As many have commented, this book is a must for every synthetic organic chemist, organic student and researcher.

Released in 1995, despite the advances in synthetic methodology, Nicolaou has presented some of the most remarkable and ingenious total syntheses from laboratories of the world's most prominent organic chemists. Molecules adopted include strychnine, prostaglandin, progesterone, vitamin B12, erythronolide B, monensin, endiandric acids, biotin, hirsutene, capnellene, methyl homosecodaphniphyllate, calicheamicin and more.

Nicaolaou has done an incredible favor to make the strategies more understandable and accesible. For each molecule, the total synthesis begins with a thorough retrosynthetic analysis. Sometimes more than one retrosynthetic routes are introduced in order to show the possibilities of finding the most efficient synthesis.

Nicoloau then meticulously describle each step in synthesis with referral to important named reactions such as the Noyori assymmetric reduction, Luche reaction, Johnson Claisen rearrangement, Julia olefination, etc. With such didatic skill and clarity, Nicoloau has taught the gist of synthesizing complex molecules from commercially available building blocks. A great way to use the book and learn organic synthesis would be to write down every single step on a separate piece of paper and understand what each step does in the overall total synthesis. The synthesis steps and important reactions are presented in schemes with blue background sections, with emphasis on asymmetric synthesis, catalysts, stereochemistry and mechanism. Major reaction intermediates are presented at the margin.

Chemical synthesis relies heavily on chemical literature research. Nicoloau also provides numerous references in each total synthesis for further studies and consultation. Nicoloau has made organic synthesis fun and approachable. Every synthetic chemist should own a copy of Nicolaou.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for synthetic organic chemists, December 12, 2000

By A Customer

This is an impressive collection of 36 syntheses. Each chapter describes a different synthesis. Included are a retrosynthetic analysis(very helpful for those learning the art of total synthesis), the total synthesis(explaining key steps along the way and why the reaction gave the products it did) and then some conclusions. The appendix in chapter 22, on Catalytic Asymetric Reactions is very useful. If you bought "The Logic of Chemical Synthesis' and were dissapointed, don't let that scare you from this book. It is well worth the price.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Could Be The Only Synthesis Book You Need..., August 19, 2001

By	Matthew M. Yau "Voracious reader" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Classics in Total Synthesis (Hardcover)

A graduate student strongly recommended me to get this book and start reading. At first intimidated by the complex synthesis steps and unfamiliar reagents, the Nicolaou synthesis book is a must read for organic students and chemists. Unlike "The Logic of Chemical Synthesis" (no doubt is also well-written), Nicolaou's "Classics in Total Synthesis" is a pictorial account of some of the representative syntheses of natural products. The detailed, well-written text discusses total synthesis work of chemists such as Heathcock, Corey, Evans, and Nicolaou himself. Each synthesis is preceded with the historical background and significance. A detailed synthetic scheme is included with detailed discussion of each intemediate and inidvidual step. Reader will surely learn a great deal by working through each synthetic step with a pencil and paper. While most advanced organic texts discuss the typical traditional methods in synthetic chemistry, Nicolaou discusses practical approach to synthesizing complex stereospecific compounds. Corey's "The Logic of Chemical Syntheses" might have the similar scope in organic synthesis, yet Nicolaou will be more reader-friendly especially for beginning students in organic synthesis. Nicolaou presents not only the tactics of the subject, it also brings out the beauty of the art of total synthesis. A good read!