After a dozen books, you’d think I would have the process down pretty well by now. Even so, every book is different. I started this book too soon after Data and Goliath and, as a result, had a few false starts at writing it. I started writing the book you’ve just read in the summer of 2017, and submitted it for publication at the end of March 2018.
I have an ace team of people who have worked on my recent books, and they all came together for this book as well. Kathleen Seidel is a researcher extraordinaire, who also has a good eye for prose, both macro and micro. Beth Friedman has copyedited everything I’ve written for 20 years now. She knows me and my writing style, and I don’t know how I would manage without her. She not only edited the book before I submitted it to the publisher, but dealt with the in-house copyeditor so I didn’t have to. Finally, Rebecca Kessler provided a much-needed developmental edit late in the writing process. She is also invaluable. To those three I added Katherine Mansted, who stepped in late in the process to provide additional research and summarization.
Many people read and commented on all or part of the manuscript in draft. Every mistake they found, or muddied thinking they flagged, made the book better. They are Michael Adame, Ross Anderson, Steve Bass, Michael Brennan, John Bruce, Cody Charette, John Davis, Judith Donath, Nora Ellingsen, Mieke Eoyang, Greg Falco, Hubert Feyrer, John Fousek, Brett Frischmann, Blair Ganson, Jason Giffey, Jack Goldsmith, Chloe Good-win, Sarah Grant, Eldar Haber, Bill Herdle, Trey Herr, Christopher Izant, Andrei Jaffe, Danielle Kehl, Eliot Kim, Xia King, Jonathan Korn, Nadiya Kostyuk, Alexander Krey, Lydia Lichlyter, Aleecia McDonald, Daniel Miessler, Adam Montville, Kee Nethery, David O’Brien, Christen Paine, David Perry, Stuart Russell, Martin Schneier, Nick Sinai, Nathaniel Sobel, Hannah Solomon-Strauss, Lance Spitzner, Stephen Taylor, Marc van Zadelhoff, Arun Vishwanath, Sara M. Watson, Jarad Webber, Tom Wheeler, and Ben Wizner. It is no exaggeration to say that this would be a much worse book without them.
W. W. Norton remains a superlative publisher, and I would like to thank my original editor, Jeff Shreve, as well as Brendan Curry, who took over when he left. Jeff signed that too-soon contract and was patient as I flailed about and missed my original deadline. I know it’s a cliché to say that my editor never lost faith in me—and honestly, I have no idea what was going on in his head—but he claimed to have never lost faith in me. And Norton never took the advance back, even when I offered it. Brendan Curry had an easier time of it; by the time he showed up, I was actually making progress. His work through the publication process was exemplary, especially in the face of my constantly pushing Norton to compress the timeline.
Similarly, Susan Rabiner remains a superlative agent. If it were just negotiating a contract, anyone could do it. But I am continually surprised by how important it is to have someone between myself and the publisher.
I would also like to thank Harvard University—specifically, the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, the Cybersecurity Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in general—for giving me a home to write, speak, and teach. I treasure my colleagues and friends at those institutions, and their ideas and ideals permeate this book. Across Cambridge, I would like to thank my primary employer, Resilient Systems (which became IBM Resilient and which will soon simply be part of IBM Security) for giving me free rein to write and publish this book.
And finally, I would like to thank my wife of 21 years, Karen Cooper, and all my friends and colleagues, for putting up with me while I was writing this book. I tend to have a codependent relationship with my book manuscripts. When they’re doing well, I’m okay. When they’re experiencing problems, I’m unhappy. Like all books, this one had its moments. I thank you all for your patience and kindness.