Being an academic means embracing the concept of paying forward. No piece of research or idea, lecture, class, or book is written without the contributions of others who have broken the ground of the paths that we have chosen to take. Whether it is our mentors to whom we apprenticed, our colleagues, students, and coauthors who helped shape us over the years, or our universities that provided us with both haven and crucible for our ideas, we owe a debt that cannot—and perhaps should not—be repaid. What we can do is acknowledge our obligation and great good fortune.
Writing the book introduced us to members of another tribe—our agent, Giles Anderson; our editor, Alex Littlefield; and our publisher, Lara Heimert. Without their enthusiastic support, negotiating skills, editorial acumen, and sharp virtual editing pencils, who knows how many more decades this book would have taken.
Finally, to you—our readers; after all, you are the reason we sat down to write in the first place.