Concise and manageable, Fessenden and Fessenden's text has earned a reputation as a superb teaching text. One of the only books that students can get through cover to cover in two semesters, it is written in an economical style that stays focused on the main discussion. The authors anticipate student questions and answer them in the same chapter.

Described by users as " the masters of the short sentence." Fessenden and Fessenden are renowned for their clear, to-the-point coverage and masterful selection of topics. The book provides a clear organization of functional groups according to sigma-bonding and pi-bonding to give students a conceptually efficient context that helps them understand the overall content of organic chemistry. Core topics for the course appear in Chapters 1-18 with more advanced and biochemical topics covered in 19-26. Essential information in each chapter is covered in earlier sections, leaving optional material for later sections.