Book excerpt: Oxidation plays a crucial role in organic synthesis. This volume presents the array of oxidizing agents and their applications in oxidations. The book describes in great detail a number of reagents of importance. The text includes oxidation of specific types of organic compounds including hydrocarbons, alcohols, phenols, ethers, carbonyl compounds, carboxylic acids, amides, hydrazides, nitro compounds, nitroso compounds, hydroxylamines, azo compounds, azides, hydrazo compounds, amines, phosphorus, arsenic and sulphur compounds. It also covers enzymatic or microbial oxidations as well as oxidations under benign conditions.