Book excerpt: New edition of the acclaimed reference series, Houben-Weyl. This new ed. is published in English and is available in both print and electronic formats. Clear and systematic, Science of Synthesis provides practical solutions and offers a route through the mass of information available in the primary literature. This one-stop reference tool is: Comprehensive: contains synthetic models selected by world-renowned experts, with full experimental procedures and background information. Reliable: the international editorial board is made up of distinguished chemists with unparalleled experience and competence. Logical and easy-to-navigate: information is organized in a hierarchical system based on the compound or functional group to be synthesized. Authoritative: critically evaluates the preparative applicability and significance of the synthetic methods. Wide-ranging: considers methods from journals, books, and patent literature from the early 1800s up to the present day and presents important synthetic methods for all classes of compounds.