Book excerpt: Catalytic Hydrogenation in Organic Syntheses focuses on the process of catalytic hydrogenation in organic synthesis. This book gives the reader easy access to catalytic history, to show what can be done and how to do it. A variety of working generalities and common sense guides are given as aids in selecting catalytic metal, catalyst support, concentration of metal and catalyst, solvent, and reaction conditions. All manner of hydrogenation catalysts are considered and mechanisms of hydrogenation are presented at a level that is useful to the synthetic organic chemist. This volume is comprised of 15 chapters and begins with an overview of catalytic hydrogenation and heterogeneous hydrogenation catalysts, along with hydrogenation reactors and reaction conditions. The discussion then shifts to the hydrogenation of compounds such as acetylenes, olefins, aldehydes, ketones, nitriles, oximes, acids, esters, lactones, anhydrides, and nitro compounds as well as carbocyclic aromatics and heterocyclic compounds. The reader is also introduced to reductive alkylation, catalytic dehydrohalogenation, and hydrogenolysis of small rings. A chapter on miscellaneous hydrogenolyses concludes the book. This book will be of interest to organic chemists working in the field of catalytic hydrogenation.