I wrote a textbook.

Let’s review.

In 2007, I inherited the ownership of the 5th Edition of the Organic Chemistry textbook written by my late colleague, Seyhan Ege. I had been a consultant since the 2nd edition, and through its editions the book traced the insights and changes to the organic teaching program at the University of Michigan. The copyright on the fifth edition was 2003, and I continued to have a custom edition of the book printed. The course continued to evolve and the book, obviously, did not, and the divergence started to get substantial.

Around 2013 or so, I figured I might update the book by having the text extracted and placed into an editable manuscript. Seyhan’s only wish was that anything I did was not a “6th Edition” of her book. Her oeuvre would stand. Whatever was done was now on me.

It took until 2015 to clear some space and time.

Pencils sharpened. Knuckles cracked. Ready to roll.

Pursuing this strategy lasted less than two hours.