Book excerpt: "This fully updated new edition presents organic reaction mechanism questions, carefully selected from the primary chemical literature, to understand how reactants are transformed into products. The author explains step-by-step solutions to all problems with appropriate contextual comments explaining the rationale and reasoning underlying each step, and identifying the underlying principles involved in each question. In the process the reader gains a better understanding of the fundamental principles of organic chemistry and how to become proficient in using the Lewis acid/Lewis base concept to complete organic reactions without resorting to memorization"--