In the last hundred years benzenoid hydrocarbons have constantly attracted the attention of both experimental and theoretical chemists. In spite of the fact that some of the basic concepts of the theory of benzenoid hydrocarbons have their origins in the 19th and early 20th century, research in this area is still in vigorous expansion. The present book provides an outline of the most important current theoretical approaches to benzenoids. Emphasis is laid on the recent developments of these theories, which can certainly be characterized as a significant advance. Em­ phasis is also laid on practical applications rather than on "pure" theory. The book assumes only some elementary knowledge of organic and physical chemistry and requires no special mathematical training. Therefore we hope that undergraduate students of chemistry will be able to follow the text without any difficulty. Since organic and physical chemists are nowadays not properly acquaint­ ed lVith the modern theory of benzenoid molecules, we hope that they will find this book both useful and informative. Our book is also aimed at theoretical chemists, especially those concerned with the "topological" features of organic molecules. The authors are indebted to Dr. WERNER SCHMIDT (Ahrensburg, FRG) for valuable discussions. One of the authors (1. G.) thanks the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research for financial support during 1988, which enabled him to stay at the University of Trondheim and write the present book. Trondheim, July 1989 Ivan Gutman Sven J. Cyvin Contents Chapter 1 Benzenoid Hydrocarbons .