Book excerpt: Chapter contribution from Ben Feringa, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2016.Atropisomerism and Axial Chirality provides a global survey of the chemistry of axially chiral compounds including biaryls, heterobiaryls, non-biaryl atropisomers, allenes and spyrocyclic derivatives. From the perspective of a synthetic organic chemist, this book provides a unique compilation of the available methodologies for their synthesis, with emphasis on the most efficient and modern strategies, a review of the huge amount of practical applications in the field of asymmetric catalysis, either as transition metal ligands or as organocatalysts, and an overview of their occurrence as bioactive compounds and natural products.The first of its kind, this book serves as a general introduction and a practical reference to advanced chemistry students and researchers, while also offering creative ideas for further developments in the field.