Valence bond all the way: From the degenerate H-exchange to cytochrome P450

This is a personalized Perspective on the development of a valence bond (VB) view of chemical reactivity (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1981, 103, 3692) as a LEGO process whereby one constructs “reactivity objects”, such as barriers, transition states, and reaction intermediates from VB building blocks, and thereby understands and predicts chemical reactivity in a unified manner. In so doing, I have tried to give the reader a panoramic set of applications, from the simple H-exchange reaction all the way to alkane hydroxylation by cytochrome P450 (Prog. Phys. Org. Chem. 1985, 15, 197; Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 1999, 38, 586).