It is patently impossible for any individual to read enough of the journal
literature so as to be aware of all significant developments that may impinge on
his or her work, particularly in an area such as stereochemistry, which knows
no topical boundaries. Stereochemical investigations may have relevance to an
understanding of a wide range of phenomena and findings irrespective of their
provenance. Because stereochemistry is important in many areas of chemistry,
comprehensive reviews of high quality play a special role in educating and
alerting the chemical community to new stereochemical developments.
The above considerations were reason enough for initiating a series such as
this. In addition to updating information found in such standard monographs as
Srereochemisrry of Carbon Compounds (Eliel, McGraw-Hill, 1962) and Conformational
Analysis (Eliel, Allinger, Angyal, and Momson, Interscience, 1965;
reprinted by American Chemical Society, 1981) as well as others published
more recently, the series is intended also to deal in greater detail with some of
the topics summarized in such texts. It is for this reason that we have selected
the title Topics in Stereochemistry for this series.