Ashry (organic chemistry, Alexandria University, Egypt) and Nemr (Egyptian National Oceanographic Data Center) review recent literature on the use of carbohydrates as raw materials in the synthesis of organic chemical compounds. They discuss the various synthetic approaches to these compounds using carbohydrate starting materials, and give details on experimental conditions so that chemists can use the information directly to design a multi-step synthesis. The readership for the book includes organic chemists in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and specialty organic chemical industries, and faculty and postgraduate students working on the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR