Book excerpt: The book is a technical guide for chemists and spectroscopists, and presents a concise description of magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy and how it has advanced the interpretation of molecular electronic spectra. Provides a practical guide to utilizing MCD spectroscopy for chemists starting in the field Written by an expert with over twenty years of experience in the field Helps the reader to visualize the optical spectroscopic effects presented by MCD measurements Includes practical considerations for experimental MCD measurements based on the author's experience Written as a general discussion of the subject matter, with illustrative examples provided and discussed in the case studies to show the breadth of application of MCD measurements.