Transition metals open up new opportunities for synthesis, because their means of bonding and their reaction mechanisms differ from those of the elements of the s and p blocks. In the last decade, the subject has mushroomed. Established reactions are seeing both technical improvements and increasing numbers of applications. New reactions are being developed. The practicality of the subject is demonstrated by the large number of publications coming from the process development laboratories of pharmaceutical companies.

This volume considers the ways in which transition metals, as catalysts and reagents, can be used in organic synthesis. It concentrates on the bond-forming reactions that set transition metal chemistry apart from "classical" organic chemistry.

The book is extensively referenced and so provides a convenient point of entry to the research literature.