Greatness is in the agency of others, as was this book.
Every time I finish a book, I swear that it will be the last one. Then my agent, Jim Levine, convinces me to write another. He is an inspiration, and the inspiration for this book.
Jason Stavers and Maria Petrova did the heavy lifting, taking my drafts, my notes, my late-night emails, and shaping them into a narrative. Jason has been working with me for twenty-five years, and can finish my sentences … as he did repeatedly here. Maria edits in her fourth language, and her skill dwarfs our facility with our first.
My data and creative teams inspire my ideas and make them pop—I wouldn’t be half as informative or entertaining without them. Taylor Malmsheimer, Mia Silverio, Griffin Carlborg, and James Steiner find the diamonds in the rough world of data. Jerllin Cheng, Radhika Patel, Ted Munro, and Christopher Gonzalez polish, visualize, and make them memorable. Katherine Dillon orchestrates it all and, with Aaron Bunge, developed the cover.
Finally, Adrian Zackheim and Niki Papadopoulos, and their entire team at Portfolio, keep the work honest and on track.
I am grateful for everyone’s good work and generosity.