Book excerpt: Essentials of Organic Chemistry is an accessible introduction to the subject for students of Pharmacy, Medicinal Chemistry and Biological Chemistry. Designed to provide a thorough grounding in fundamental chemical principles, the book focuses on key elements of organic chemistry and carefully chosen material is illustrated with the extensive use of pharmaceutical and biochemical examples. In order to establish links and similarities the book places prominence on principles and deductive reasoning with cross-referencing. This informal text also places the main emphasis on understanding and predicting reactivity rather than synthetic methodology as well as utilising a mechanism based layout and featuring annotated schemes to reduce the need for textual explanations. * tailored specifically to the needs of students of Pharmacy Medical Chemistry and Biological Chemistry * numerous pharmaceutical and biochemical examples * mechanism based layout * focus on principles and deductive reasoning This will be an invaluable reference for students of Pharmacy Medicinal and Biological Chemistry.