The occurrence, properties, and uses of the individual alkaline-earth elements and their more important compounds are given in Clifford N.N. Greenwood and A. Hampel (ed.), The Encyclopedia Earnshaw, Chemistry of the Chemical Elements, 2nd ed. (19681997). Ulick R. Evans, Metals and Metallic Compounds, vol. 2 (1923 A.G. Massey, Main Group Chemistry, 2nd ed. (2000), contains a detailed chapter on the Group IIa 2 elements describing their physical properties, laboratory preparationcommon compounds, and common compoundsbiological relevance. The general comparative and theoretical aspects of alkaline-earth chemistry are discussed in most modern textbooks of inorganic chemistry and particularly in C.S.G. Phillips and R.J.P. Williams, Inorganic Chemistry, 2 vol. (1965–66, such as D.F. Shriver et al., Shriver and Atkins’ Inorganic Chemistry, 5th ed. (2010).