Origin of Life (OoL) research has produced an amazing amount of scientific experimentation, but no consensus has emerged on any viable naturalistic path from chemical compounds to living, reproducing cells. One example of the accomplishments, optimism, and then futility of OoL research is the search for a prebiotic, naturalistic origin of homochirality in α-amino acids and polypeptides. This review surveys the current research on the significance of homochirality in proteins, the rivalries within OoL research, the abiotic sources of α-amino acids and polypeptides, their chiral amplification, their prebiotic stability, and the difficulty of finding a naturalistic explanation for the origin of homochirality.