Fred Lutgens received his BS and MS from Illinois State University. Ed Tarbuck received his BS from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and his MA from Indiana University. Both are professors emeriti from Illinois Central College. They have been good friends and colleagues since 1970. Joining Lutgens and Tarbuck for the first time in the 14th edition is Redina Herman who received her PhD from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Between them, they have more than 60 years of experience teaching geoscience to undergraduates, and both have been recognized with awards as excellent and inspiring professors. Lutgens and Tarbuck published their first college text, Earth Science , in 1976. That book, winner of the McGuffy Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association, is now in its 15th edition. In 1983, as the first edition of Earth was being prepared, renowned geoscience illustrator Dennis Tasa joined the author team. Since then the three have collaborated on more than 30 projects as the dominant author team franchise in the physical geosciences. Redina Herman has a PhD in Atmospheric Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She has been teaching introductory and advanced meteorology courses for 15 years. Redina is involved in science education research and won the Western Illinois University College of Arts and Sciences award for Teaching with Technology. Redina is also Western Illinois University's representative to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which runs the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). She adds a great deal of knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to the team.