Ebook: Stereochemistry

This book contains a short history and account of stereochemistry :
the study of the three-dimensional structure of molecules and of the
relationships between the structure and properties of matter. This
subject seems to us to make a particularly suitable introduction to
the most important chemical problems of today. The successes of
modern chemistry (by modern we mean the chemistry of the last
30-40 years) are directly related to the development of new theories
of the forces which bond atoms to each other, and to the appearance
of new, rapid and effective methods for the investigation of molecular
structures. These factors have produced in the most recent genera-
tion of chemists a new sensibility in which stereochemical aspects
are useful not only for explaining a limited number of phenomena
but also form a basis for the correct interpretation of the reactivity
and properties of molecules. If one tries to enter into the heart of
chemical phenomena, in particular if one wishes to take steps
towards understanding the chemistry of the processes of life, it is
necessary to seek the aid of the methods of stereochemistry in large
measure ; it is necessary to think in three-dimensional terms.
"Stereochemistry" is not, however, a treatise or a text on stereo-
chemistry. It is neither complete nor systematic, characteristics
which we have preferred to neglect in our search for easily under-
standable, interesting material.