For over 60 years, William Theilheimer's [1] 'yearbook' has provided organic chemists with an invaluable review of new synthetic methods, along with significant improvements for known procedures. Now published twice a year, this renowned publication continues as an indispensable aid to organic chemists, both for casual browsing and as a fully cross-referenced research tool.

Digital Chemistry, with the dedication and commitment of expert abstractors and long-term contributors, Gill Tozer-Hotchkiss [2], Alan Finch [3], Jill Entwistle and Chris Hardy, has taken on the responsibility for preparing forthcoming volumes commencing with vol. 72, due to be published by S. Karger AG in June 2008.

A typical page from vol. 72 is reproduced below, illustrating the presentation of the abstracts, the way in which the sections are organised in order to bring together similar transformations and the extensive indexing and cross-referencing, which makes it such a fundamentally useful resource.

• Systematic survey of the mainstream organic chemistry literature;
• Examples abstracted to illustrate important new, generally applicable, synthetic methods;
• Abstracts provide a summary of the experimental procedure as well as highlighting the scope and limitations of the method and important mechanistic features;
• Abstracts collated and organised into logical sections, affording a useful browsing tool;
• Comprehensive indexing and cross-referencing provide an invaluable research tool;
• 640 Graphical abstracts are complemented by numerous supplementary references, a review of reviews and informed commentary on latest trends;

If you have any comments or queries concerning the content of the publication, we would be pleased to hear from you. Alternatively, volume 72 (along with many of the previous volumes) can be purchased directly from the publisher - click here for further details.

1. William Theilheimer (1914-2005) (ACS Obituary; Wikipedia entry)
2. Gill Tozer-Hotchkiss - Editor, Volume 71 onwards
3. Alan F. Finch - Editor, Volumes 36-70