Deals with basic principles of asymmetric catalysis focusing on its synthetic significance. Covers homogeneous asymmetric hydrogenation, asymmetric catalysis via chiral metal complexes, heterogeneous catalysis and non-organometallic catalysis. The collection of a range of stereoselective reactions illustrate various strategies and methodologies as well as their general utility.

Ryōji Noyori is a Japanese chemist. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001, Noyori shared a third of the prize with William S. Knowles for the study of chirally catalyzed hydrogenations; the second third of the prize went to K. Barry Sharpless for his study in chirally catalyzed oxidation reactions.