Book excerpt: Organic Chemistry, Volume 20: Isonitrile Chemistry discusses the fundamental aspects of the chemistry of isonitriles. This book provides an introduction to as well as a thorough coverage of isonitrile chemistry. Organized into 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the general properties and structure of isonitriles. This text then examines the quantitative study of the kinetics of isonitrile rearrangement as well as the principal resonance structure of the isonitrile molecule. Other chapters consider the experimental and theoretical findings on the fall-off behavior of the unimolecular rate constants of different isonitriles with pressure. This book discusses as well the behavior of isonitriles toward a center of low electron density, which is particularly manifested in the reactivity of alkyl and aryl isonitriles toward diborane and alkyl or arylboranes. The final chapter deals with the inorganic coordination chemistry of isonitriles. This book is a valuable resource for organic chemists.