I want to express my dying gratitude to all of my friends who said, “Hey, Bob, I thought of a great question for your book the other day, but I forgot it.”
I earnestly thank two nice guys with whom it has been a pleasure to work: my agent, Ethan Ellenberg, and my editor, Mike Shohl. Ethan skillfully navigated my proposal through the “shohls” of contract negotiation, while Mike wielded his blue pencil with understanding and restraint, getting all my jokes and allowing them to survive.
Diana Zourelias's delightful drawings add an even lighter touch to what would otherwise have been a relentlessly gray-paged volume. All I did was give her a paragraph describing each situation to be illustrated, and her whimsical creativity took it from there.
I am indebted to Richard E. Eckels for guiding me to a true explanation of how airplanes fly.
The two women in my life, my daughter, Leslie, and my wife, Marlene, never flagged in their encouragement or in their regard for my work despite my computer's often competing with them for my time. For that and for their love and admiration I am grateful every day of my life.