Book excerpt: The accurate interpretation of infrared spectra of organic structures is an extremely important tool for the analytical chemist. Using up-to-date source material, this volume presents a compilation of the infrared absorption regions of ninety of the most important organic molecular fragments. This highly practical guide introduces the reader to a straightforward technique for determining all the fundamental vibrations of a molecular fragment. The set of normal vibrations and the infrared absorption regions of ninety molecular fragments are then discussed and tabulated. The discussion of each fragment is accompanied by a large number of references. A Guide to the Complete Interpretation of Infrared Spectra of Organic Structures offers the analytical chemist the possibility of a more profound interpretation of infrared spectra. In addition, it assumes only a basic knowledge of infrared spectra, and so will prove very useful for non-specialists who use infrared spectroscopy in analysis.