This book is dedicated to everyone I’ve met over the last decade who thought the topic was as fascinating as I do. Wow, are you ever messed up.

No book is an island. This one could not have been built without the talents of journalist, essayist, scuba diver, pirate-treasure hunter, and tattooed cat-hoarder Cynthya Porter, whose contribution could be likened to offering life vests on the Titanic. Her prose is sharp enough to shave with, smooth enough to give Teflon a run for its money, and as hard to resist as cookie dough. But not the kind you get E. coli from.

Now for some obligatory sucking up. I need to thank Travis Stanton, Randy Acker, Lee Knight, and the crew of Exhibitor magazine for giving me time, leeway, encouragement, and a paycheck. And Travis, thanks for the Chinese fortune cookie years ago that set all of this into motion.

Last, to my agent Malaga Baldi, whose patience and kindness with her writers are exceeded only by her belief in them.