Book excerpt: Chromatography Today provides a comprehensive coverage of various separation methods: gas, liquid, thin-layer, and supercritical fluid-chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis. Particular attention is paid to the optimization of these techniques in terms of kinetic parameters and retention mechanisms. When these facts are understood, method selection and optimization becomes a more logical process. Sample preparation methods are treated fully as they frequently represent an integral part of the total analytical method. Also described are preparative-scale separations used for isolating significant amounts of product which are generally achieved under conditions that are not identical to those used for analytical separations. The most common hyphenated methods used for sample identification are discussed from the perspective of the information they yield and the requirements of common interfaces. The scope and level of discussion are designed to be appropriate for various user groups. This book should be suitable for use as a graduate-level student textbook in separation science, a text for professional institutes offering short courses in chromatography, and as a self-study guide for chromatographers to refresh their knowledge of the latest developments in the field. The book is extensively illustrated with over 200 figures, 110 tables and 3,300 references, largely to the contemporary literature.