The diterpenoid natural product taxol, first discovered in the 1960’s has proved to be the most important new anticancer drug introduced in the last ten years. A brief history of taxol’s development from laboratory curiosity to blockbuster drug is followed by a summary of its chemistry, including an overview of the six completed syntheses of taxol. The review concludes with a discussion of its bioactivity as a promoter of tubulin polymerization and as a drug.