Book excerpt: Oxidizing and Reducing Agents S. D. Burke University of Wisconsin at Madison, USA R. L. Danheiser Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA Recognising the critical need for bringing a handy reference work that deals with the most popular reagents in synthesis to the laboratory of practising organic chemists, the Editors of the acclaimed Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis (EROS) have selected the most important and useful reagents employed in contemporary organic synthesis. Handbook of Reagents for Organic Synthesis: Oxidizing and Reducing Agents, provides the synthetic chemist with a convenient compendium of information concentrating on the most important and frequently employed reagents for the oxidation and reduction of organic compounds, extracted and updated from EROS. The inclusion of a bibliography of reviews and monographs, a compilation of Organic Syntheses procedures with tested experimental details and references to oxidizing and reducing agents will ensure that this handbook is both comprehensive and convenient.