Jim Armstrong attended Harvard University as an undergraduate student, then moved to the West coast for graduate school. Since earning his Master's degree at the University of California at Berkeley, Jim has taught in the California community college system. He has been on the faculty of City College of San Francisco for the past 20 years, during which time he has taught the full range of lower-division chemistry courses, with particular emphasis on the single-term GOB course. Ten years ago, he collaborated with the CCSF biology and nursing departments on an extensive revision of the GOB curriculum, and the success of the course revision led to the writing of this textbook. Besides teaching and writing, Jim enjoys playing piano and trombone, collecting topographic maps, bird watching, and doting on his wonderful twin daughters.