Combinatorial chemistry is possibly the most exciting methodological development that has occurred in medicinal chemistry for several decades. This text captures some of the imagination, rapid evolution of ideas, and a sense of purpose that have made this field what it is. Commercial success or survival is an issue for many of the researchers in this area and this can cloud the science, but Wilson and Czarnik have managed to correlate a series of scholarly contributions that largely avoids self-interest and exaggeration.

Stephen Wilson's opening chapter is an excellent summary of landmark events in the evolution of combinatorial chemistry, and it is well referenced. He does not attempt to define combinatorial chemistry, though perhaps this is wise because there does not seem to be a definition that most researchers can agree on. Equally good contributions are given from some leaders in the field, without which a book of this kind would be incomplete. For instance, Wolfgang Rapp presents a section that focuses on his resins, Rebek and coworkers overview their deconvolution strategy, and there is inevitably a chapter from the prolific Houghten group. Bob Armstrong's chapter on multicomponent couplings contains a no-frills treatment of solid science that illustrates the impact a world-class synthetic organic chemist can have in this area. There is also a chapter by Carol Taylor (University of Aukland) on libraries of oligosaccharides that gives a balanced impressionher writing does not focus on the work of one group. Similarly, the chapter from Irving Sucholeiki (Sphinx) gives a nice feel for approaches to solid-phase syntheses. A few of the other chapters may be too detailed or too focused on a single commercial product for the average reader. The final contribution on biological systems is a conciliatory gesture towards molecular biologists, who might justifiably argue that the title of this book should more accurately reflect its bias towards organic chemistry.

Inevitably, comparisons will be made with Gunther Jung's collection, Combinatorial and Nonpeptide Libraries, which appeared in 1996 (VCH, ISBN 3-527-29380-9). It is hard to decide which is the better book, primarily because different readers seek different information. The Wilson/Czarnik text is more up to date, and perhaps has more emphasis on small-molecule libraries. Jung's handbook is more comprehensive (heavier), and, despite its title, places more stress on peptide-related aspects. It also has a chapter from Jon Ellman, but one that could not include his superb recent work on privileged structures for medicinal chemistry that are not benzodiazepines. Neither book contains contributions from Clark Still and the Pharmacopeia group, though their ingenious tagging method is outlined.

Combinatorial chemistry is here to stay. Wilson and Czarnik have put together a good collection from this initial exciting phase of research in the area. Together with Jung's text, this book has set a standard. To make an impact, subsequent books on combinatorial chemistry will have to be more specialized and detailed than these.

Overall, this is probably a text that everyone working in the area should buy and an essential component for any well-stocked library. It is not a graduate course book, however. Being a collection of chapters by different authors from around the world, the book cannot present the seamless flow of ideas that students need. From the standpoint of chemical education, this book is really best suited as a supplement to a course, for further reading, rather than as a foundation.