As pharmaceutical companies look to develop single enantiomers as drug candidates, chemists are increasingly faced with the problems associated with this subclass of organic synthesis. "The Handbook of Chiral Chemicals, Second Edition" highlights the problems associated with the production of chiral compounds on a commercial scale. The handbook first elaborates upon starting materials obtained from a 'chiral pool', which can be derived from natural products. Then it explains methods and reactions that can introduce or influence stereogenic centers, particularly asymmetric hydrogenations,...