Addition, Elimination and Substitution: Markovnikov, Hofmann, Zaitsev and Walden

Addition, Elimination and Substitution: Markovnikov, Hofmann, Zaitsev and Walden: Discovery and Development discusses foundational reactions in organic chemistry and their major protagonists, contributions to synthesis, and history. Hofmann, Zaitsev, and Markovnikov are introduced, along with their major discoveries and contributions to organic chemistry. The history of controversies around Markovnikov's Rule are addressed. The book introduces Walden's original demonstration of configuration inversion, then discusses bimolecular elimination reactions, regioselective addition reactions, regiospecific alkene synthesis, and the development of modern reactions with configuration inversion. With its unique perspective, focus, and comprehensive coverage, this book belongs on the shelf of every organic chemist. - Introduces Markovnikov, Zaitsev, Hofmann, and Walden as actual persons, rather than just an abstract term used as a form of short-hand to describe the rules - Discusses, in depth, the discovery and usage of these reactions and rules, from their discovery to their most recent applications - Includes biographical materials about chemists responsible for major changes in application of the rules - Traces the history of the applications of these reactions, e.g., anti-Markovnikov additions in catalytic organic synthesis, and reactions such as the Mitsunobu reaction improving the original SN2 displacement

David Lewis is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and holds B.Sc., Ph.D., and D.Sc. degrees from the University of Adelaide, in South Australia. His research over the last decade has been divided between synthetic organic chemistry and the history of chemistry (specifically, the history of organic chemistry in Russia). He is the author of over 100 refereed publications, of Advanced Organic Chemistry (Oxford: New York, 2016) and of The Wolff-Kishner Reduction and Related Reactions. Discovery and Development (Elsevier: Amsterdam, 2019). He is the recipient of the 2018 HIST Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry, and a 2019 Laureate of the V. V. Markovnikov Medal. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Minireviews in Organic Chemistry, and of the ad hoc Editorial Advisory Board of The Bulletin for the History of Chemistry, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.