Bols delivers an original and effective presentation that unravels secrets from carbohydrate chemistry. He specifically describes which carbohydrates are best used in Synthesis and how to obtain them. The first half of this indispensable reference contains a dictionary-like list of compounds that can be prepared in a few steps from commercially cheap carbohydrates. The latter section describes which carbohydrates are commercially and inexpensively available along with the chemistry that can be used to convert them into useful building blocks.