Book excerpt: Magnesium remains almost unique among the metals in its ability to react directly with a wide variety of compounds. This organic chemistry field has seen steady progress, and a volume on this topic is long overdue. In the tradition of the Patai Series this title treats all aspects of functional groups, containing chapters on the theoretical and computational foundations; on analytical and spectroscopic aspects with dedicated chapters on Mass Spectrometry, NMR, IR/UV, etc.; on reaction mechanisms; on applications in syntheses. Depending on the functional group there are also chapters on industrial use, on effects in biological and/or environmental systems. Since the area of Organomagnesium Chemistry continues to grow far beyond the classical Grignard Reagents, this is an essential resource to help the reader keep abreast of the latest developments.