After the overwhelming success of 'Asymmetric Synthesis - The Essentials', narrating the colorful history of asymmetric synthesis, this is the second edition with latest subjects and authors. While the aim of the first edition was mainly to honor the achievements of the pioneers in asymmetric syntheses, the aim of this new edition was bringing the current developments, especially from younger colleagues, to the attention of students. The format of the book remained unchanged, i. e. short conceptual overviews by young leaders in their field including a short biography of the authors. The growing multidisciplinary research within chemistry is reflected in the selection of topics including metal catalysis, organocatalysis, physical organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and its applications in total synthesis. The prospective reader of this book is a graduate or undergraduate student of advanced organic chemistry as well as the industrial chemist who wants to get a brief update on the current developments in the field.