Presentation is clear and instructive: students will learn to recognize that many of the reactions in organic chemistry are closely related and not independent facts needing unrelated memorization. The book emphasizes that derivation of a mechanism is not a theoretical procedure, but a means of applying knowledge of other similar reactions and reaction conditions to the new reaction.

n Brief summaries of required basic knowledge of organic structure, bonding, stereochemistry, resonance, tautomerism, and molecular orbital theory
n Definitions of essential terms
n Typing and classification of reactions
n Hints (rules) for deriving the most likely mechanism for any reaction