Acknowledgments

I started writing my first book for Manning Publications in 2003, and though much has changed, they are still as devoted to publishing high-quality books now as they were then. I’d like to thank all of Manning’s professionals for their hard work and dedication, but I’d like to acknowledge the following folks in particular:

First, I’d like to thank Maria Townsley, who worked as developmental editor. Maria is one of the most hands-on editors I’ve worked with, and she went beyond the call of duty in recommending ways to improve the book’s organization and clarity. I bristled and whined, but in the end, she turned out to be absolutely right. In addition, despite my frequent rewriting of the table of contents, her pleasant disposition never flagged for a moment.

I’d like to extend my deep gratitude to the entire Manning production team. In particular, I’d like to thank Andy Carroll for going above and beyond the call of duty in copyediting this book. His comments and insight have not only dramatically improved the polish of the text, but his technical expertise has made the content more accessible. Similarly, I’d like to thank Maureen Spencer and Katie Tennant for their eagle-eyed proofreading of the final copy and Gordan Salinovic for his painstaking labor in dealing with the book’s images and layout. I’d also like to thank Mary Piergies for masterminding the production process and making sure the final product lives up to Manning’s high standards.