“Scientific understanding is one of life's real pleasures”

Peter Atkins is one of the most successful authors of chemical textbooks. To Nachrichten aus der Chemie he speaks about the way teaching will change in the future and why it saddens him that many people go to their graves without understanding the second law of thermodynamics.

Nachrichten aus der Chemie: Prof. Atkins, please tell us: what's the secret of a good textbook.

Peter Atkins: I try to put myself in the readers' place — to guess where they might have trouble understanding the topic. I also try to guide the reader by sticking to an open, direct, logical route through the subject and not leaving out any steps. The Japanese, I believe, usually print books in two volumes. The first is not called Vol. I or the second Vol. II, but rather Up and Down. The Japanese see a textbook as a bridge between ignorance and understanding. So you go from ignorance to understanding by crossing this textbook bridge. A wonderful image, don't you think? If the author keeps this idea in mind, the book has a good chance of succeeding. Another secret is to listen to criticism. All books are reviewed before they are published, so you get advice in advance from a wide r

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