The Art of Problem Solving in Organic Chemistry

Partial table of contents: The Rules of the Game. Slow Motion, Deep Insight. Clear Drawings, Three--Dimensional Structures. Preserve Atoms in Place, Keep Things Simple. Atom and Bond Budgets. Fragmentation of Bicyclobutane by Way of Anti--Bredt Intermediates. Acidic Fragmentation in the Course of a Clever Synthesis of Alpha----Methylene Butyrolactones. A Local Oxidation at the Unexpected Site by Bromination at the Expected Site. Vicinal Migrations with Stereocontrol. Hydrazine Used for Ring Mutation. A Stepwise Electron Transfer That Requires Two Moles of Oxidant. Circuitous Oxidation With Lead Tetraacetate. Multifaceted Performance of Grignard Reagent. A Potentially Complex Wagner----Meerwein Rearrangement Made Simple. Strange Involvement of Nonfunctionalized Isopentyl Side Chain. A Case of X--Ray Data Yielding the Wrong Structure Due to Interference of Organic Chemistry. Reaction Index.