This book is designed for those who have had no more than a brief introduction to organic chemistry and who require a broad understanding of the subject. The book is in two parts. In Part I, reaction mechanism is set in its wider context of the basic principles and concepts that underlie chemical reactions: chemical thermodynamics, structural theory, theories of reaction kinetics, mechanism itself and stereochemistry. In Part II these principles and concepts are applied to the formation of particular types of bonds, groupings, and compounds. The final chapter in Part II describes the planning and detailed execution of the multi-step syntheses of several complex, naturally occurring compounds.