Stimulating indeed, this book is an invaluable resource for the chemistry community as well as for scientists in a wide range of disciplines and across different levels of education. Well-renowned chemists, all pioneers in their corresponding fields, have contributed a total of 24 chapters, written in essay format, with each addressing a different "concept". The text of this book flows remarkably smoothly. Even the most complicated concepts are easy to comprehend because of the way the essays are written and organized. Each essay begins with a clear and concise definition of the concept, including a pictorial description, followed by an abstract. There is a prologue introducing each essay and an epilogue concluding it. These features provide a nice perspective to the more detailed contents and offer a vision of future developments. Hence, each essay is not only informative, but thought-provoking as well. The cited literature is extensive, covering both the fundamental and the most current references in each topic. The book is thus a wonderful resource for those wishing to pursue further knowledge in any of the specific fields covered.The concepts are grouped into four separate sections. Section I addresses new concepts in design and synthesis, where the word "green chemistry" recurs throughout the 10 essays that cover topics ranging from Lewis acid catalysis in aqueous media, organic synthesis in supercritical fluids, and combinatorial chemistry to asymmetric twocenter catalysis, to name a few. Interfacing structure and function, section II comprises five fabulous essays discussing concepts in molecular architecture, organization, and assembly. Topics include new frontiers in the chemistry of fullerenes and novel carbon allotropes, functional dendrimers, chemical encapsulation via self-assembly, constrictive noncovalent bonding, and molecular host-frameworks for crystal engineering. The exciting progression continues in section III, where the connection between chemistry and new materials science is explored via a half-dozen essays. Concepts developed in the previous section are applied in section III to concepts in nanotechnology. After reading this section, one has the conviction that concepts that sounded like science fiction a decade ago, such as the advent of molecular computers, could become a reality in the not-too-distant future. Outstanding discussions on the most recent development of molecular wires, molecular devices, and molecular machines are complemented by the latest research in electron/energy transfer, luminescent logic and sensing, nanoarchitecture, and the supramolecular synthon. The last three essays of the book, in section IV, are dedicated to the intellectually challenging bridge between biology and chemistry. The link is brilliantly explored through the concepts of enzyme mimics and enzyme inhibition * Unsigned book reviews are by the Book Review Editor.
