In this interview, Peter Atkins explains the deep motivations that compel him to sit at his desk at 6 AM writing books and textbooks. He discusses the four principal elements that help to make a chemistry textbook successful, including the secret ingredient. He also discusses the importance of problem solving, the interaction of multimedia, and the effect of the Web on textbooks. Finally, Atkins articulates the beliefs that learning chemistry opens our eyes to a deeper enjoyment of the world, that chemistry plumbs a deeper level of reality. (Contains 5 notes.)