Acknowledgments
My thanks go to Charles Jones for providing me with an introduction to
Myles Thompson at Columbia University Press. After our first hour-long
discussion about the concept of this book, Myles decided we needed to have
another discussion on the very same day. His passion for this book has been
both inspirational and flattering, and he has been a terrific partner in its
production. Bridget Flannery-McCoy has provided both patient and careful
editorial assistance. She and others on the staff of Columbia University Press
helped make this book possible. At Westchester Book Group I am grateful
to Susan Baker, Lyndee Stalter, and the staff for their friendly and thor-
ough help, and Susan Badger for her superb copy editing. Special thanks to
Lawrence Shire (one of the best pitchers I know) and Jonathan Ehrlich for
always steering me in the right direction.
Although they did not contribute directly to the book itself, the following
people helped to further my understanding of many of its topics: J. Richard
Blewitt, Russell Church, Bill Demchak, Dana Erwin, Sean Kavanagh, Richard
Leibovitch, Bill Parsley, Glenn Weinstein, and especially Stephen Blyth.
Stephen has a unique ability to explain complex concepts in an intuitive and
easy-to-understand manner that has greatly influenced the way in which I
have presented some of the material here. In particular, the exposition on
convexity adjustments in Chapter 6 is based largely on discussions I have
had with Stephen over the years. I appreciate his sharing some of his many
insights with me.
