Book excerpt: Bringing together examples that until now were often hidden and widely spread throughout the original literature, this textbook shows how to use the correct reagents, conditions or reaction sequences to have access to all possible stereoisomers when beginning synthesis with only a single starting material. Adopting a didactic approach, the authors have chosen general and simple examples throughout the book so that these reactions can be transferred easily to other reaction types. While of major interest to master and PhD students alike, this book is also a source of valuable information for organic chemists in both academia and industry. Additional material for lectures at www.wiley-vch.de/textbooks