Acknowledgments

Writing a book is by no means a solitary activity, except maybe for my wife, who spent many an evening wondering if I'd ever come down from my office. So I'd like to take a moment to thank the people who have backed me up during the long process of getting this book on the shelves.

First off, I'd like to thank everyone at O'Reilly for sticking with me through all the delays. Due to one event or another, not to mention changes in the CSS realm itself, I managed to stretch out the process so far that I had three editor changes before it was all said and done—and one of those editors, in the style of Grover Cleveland, took on the project twice. Thank you all for your patience, understanding, and willingness to do what was best for the book. Thanks especially to Lorrie LeJeune and Molly Wood; and also to Marlowe Shaeffer and David Futato, who really went the extra mile to make things as right as could be.

I'd also like to thank most profoundly my technical reviewers, Tantek Çelik and Ian Hickson. Both gentlemen lent their considerable expertise and insight to the project, keeping me honest and up-to-date on the latest changes in CSS2.1 as well as taking me to task for sloppy descriptions and muddled explanations. The book could not have been as good as it is without them, and whatever errors you find in the text are my fault, not theirs. This has become a tired cliché, but it is so true that it's almost impossible to avoid saying it.

There are a few personal acknowledgments to make as well.

To TEDS, the standards evangelism team at Netscape, up until its disbanding in July 2003: we fought the good fight and made a difference, and I'm honored to have been a part of the team. So my thanks, respect, and gratitude to Bob Clary, Marcio Galli, Katsuhiko Momoi, Chris Nalls, Tristan Nitot, Arun Ranganathan, Doron Rosenberg, and Susie Wyshak—comrades all.

To Dave, thank you for all the years of laughter and conversation, and we'll definitely get to work on a script for "CSS: The Movie" any year now.

To Jeff and Carrie, thanks for being friends that I may not deserve, but definitely enjoy and am deeply grateful to have.

To Gini and Ferrett, who have two of the odder names and biggest hearts of anyone I know, thanks for keeping me (and Kat) distracted and amused when it was most needed.

To Jim and Genevieve, thanks for all the great meals, great parties, and great conversations.

To my family, both immediate and extended, I cannot express enough thanks for your continued love and support.

And to my wife, Kathryn, who has never wavered in her belief in me and my abilities, nor in her willingness to let me do what needs to be done, I thank you with all the love we share. I couldn't have done all this without your support, your laugh, and your boundless joy.

—Eric A. Meyer, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

23 February 2004