Author’s Note
When I was approached by a major publisher to become Ronald Mallett’s co-author and assist him with his memoir, my concern was that the science involved would be over my head. In my first conversation with Ron, I admitted that not only had I not taken physics in school, but I had avoided all sciences that weren’t mandatory, preferring history and journalism. Of course, I told him what I had told other subjects with whom I had written books: that he was the expert and knew enough about his subject for both of us, and that my area of expertise would be in helping craft his story for a general readership. Ron thought that sounded fine. Then, I asked: “Can we agree early-on that there is no such thing as a dumb question?” He laughed, and explained good-naturedly that as a long-time teacher of undergraduates, he had fielded plenty of dumb questions. Thus began what turned into a great collaboration, which has morphed into a genuine and warm friendship that I know will last the rest of our lives.
Ron and I had our ups and downs with this project, not in terms of the material or working together, but from the outside world. We lost our first editor, and her replacement didn’t like the early chapters, so we asked for a release from our contract. Then, to our surprise, we had difficulty finding another publisher, and ended up with a small publishing house that went out of business shortly after the hardcover was published, although not before we found ourselves working with a third editor. The title is now available in paperback from Basic Books, and Ron continues to be a popular speaker at events and appearances. Our book has been translated into several languages, with foreign rights sales to China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and the United Kingdom.