1. For a review of the aldol reaction, see: Heathcock, C. H. In Comprehensive Organic Synthesis; Trost, B. M.; Fleming, I., Eds.; Pergamon: New York, 1991; Vol. 2, p. 133 and p. 181.
2. For reviews of the Birch reduction, see: Rabideau, P. W.; Marcinow, Z. Organic Reactions 1992, 42, 1; Mander, L. N. In Comprehensive Organic Synthesis; Trost, B. M.; Fleming, I., Eds.; Pergamon: New York, 1991; Vol. 8.
3. For the SmI2 promoted aldol/alkylation reaction of thiophenes, see: Yang, S.-M.; Fang, J.-M. Tetrahedron Lett. 1997, 38, 1589; for early work on the reductive aldol reaction of enones, see: Stork, G.; d'Angelo, D. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1974, 96, 7114.
4. Donohoe, T. J.; Guyo, P. M. J. Org. Chem. 1996, 61, 7664; Donohoe, T. J.; Guyo, P. M.; Beddoes, R. L.; Helliwell, M. J. Chem. Soc. Perkin Trans. 1 1998, 667; Donohoe, T. J.; Guyo, P. M.; Harji, R. R.; Cousins, R. P. C. Tetrahedron Lett. 1998, 39, 3075.
5. Donohoe, T. J.; Helliwell, M.; Stevenson, C. A.; Ladduwahetty, T. Tetrahedron Lett. 1998, 39, 3071.