Book excerpt: Strategies and Tactics in Organic Synthesis, Volume 3 provides detailed accounts of interesting advances in the field of synthesis. This book discusses the tasks of multistep synthesis from finding the proper reagents, reaction, and conditions for individual steps to inventing new chemistry to fill gaps in existing synthetic methodology. Organized into 13 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the development of redox glycosidation strategy through ester methylenation. This text then examines the development of computer-assisted molecular modeling with applications to a wide range of problems in biological and organic chemistry. Other chapters consider the medicinal significance of ginkgo tree, which has prompted systematic studies to correlate the claimed beneficial effects of its extracts to the active principles. This book discusses as well the biological potency of pentacyclic quassinoids. The final chapter deals with the economic synthesis of a penem antibacterial. This book is a valuable resource for chemists.