IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE RECALCITRANCE OF THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY some seven years ago, this book would likely have never come to fruition. At that time, I was actively pitching another investment-related book, The Alpha Revolution: How Hedge Funds Have Changed Investing and What It Means for Your Portfolio. Unfortunately for the wider reading public, and me, no publisher wanted to publish it. Rather than go the then arduous route of self-publishing, I turned in another direction.
At this time, blogs were coming into vogue, and the investment blogosphere was starting to get off the ground. After some initial reluctance, I entered the investment blogosphere with a blog Abnormal Returns that continues up to this day. So in a certain respect, I have to thank all those book editors from way back who passed on my book, because without them there would be no Abnormal Returns book or blog.
I want to thank the team at McGraw-Hill Professional who helped bring this project to its conclusion. They include Stephanie Frerich, Gaya Vinay, Janice Race, Ruth Mannino, Sarah Hendrickson, and Lydia Rinaldi. As well, I want to thank Robert Meitus, who in a short period of time helped turn my book proposal into a signed book contract.
The Abnormal Returns blog has been a solo effort from the outset, but for the past two-plus years it has been published in collaboration with the team at StockTwits. In particular, I would like to thank Howard Lindzon, who has been a consistent champion of the blog, and Phil Pearlman, who has been especially supportive and always has my back. The best thing I can say about StockTwits is that if it did not already exist, someone would have to invent it.
I want to thank fellow blogger Josh Brown, who has been traveling along the first-time author track at the same time. I also want to thank all those who kindly provided generous testimonials for the book jacket.
Claude Erb, my former boss and coauthor of mine, greatly influenced the way I think about investing to this day. My other investment influences are too many to list here, but they include the dozens, if not hundreds, of bloggers whom I follow and who provide the daily fodder for Abnormal Returns.
Books are by their nature solitary efforts. My life is anything but a solitary effort. I am lucky to have in my wife, Colleen, the best partner I could ever hope for. We count ourselves blessed each day for the good fortune we have been granted.