Paul Hudson

Although there are only a few names on the cover of this book, it is the culmination of many years of writing, refining, testing, rewriting, exploration, and passion from many people. I feel lucky to be part of the team and want to thank the others for their enthusiasm and humor it makes a huge difference to know that everyone who works on this book enjoys the topic!

I'm grateful to the entire team at Pearson for their help and feedback, but there are a few special thanks: Shelley Johnston lassoed Andrew and I into writing this book, and we have had a great time. Without Shelley, this book would not be what it is. Damon Jordan worked hard to make sure that readers like you get the most value from our content. I think you will agree he did a great job!

On the technical side, we were blessed to have Dallas Releford scouring our every word, adding suggestions, making improvements, and ruthlessly correcting mistakes. Dallas is a supremely experienced Linux guru who eats, sleeps, and breathes Fedora. I hope I get to work with him again.

Our production editor was Megan Wade, and she turned our stilted, broken English into flowing prose. At the most basic level, she checks and corrects spelling, grammar, and style, but she went above and beyond the call of duty with this particular comment I got back during the author review process: "The title of The The's album is actually two words Mind Bomb (I double-checked my copy of the album to make sure)." What author could ask for more?

Outside of Pearson, I owe a debt of gratitude to Nick Veitch at Linux Format magazine. It is because of him that I get paid to play around with Linux all day, which is my ideal job. I guess he also taught me a thing or two about writing, but I consider that a fair trade for all the lessons I have given him in Unreal Tournament!

My family's contribution to this work has been immense. Andrew was brave in accepting the job of co-writing, but it turns out that we work in tandem very well he has done a marvelous job, and we are both very proud of this end result. My wife, Ildiko, managed to put up with months of me doing no housework, although I think that the minute I am finished with this it is back to the grindstone for me (why do you think these acknowledgements are so long?). My parents have been immensely supportive throughout, and I love them dearly.

Finally, none of this work would have been possible without the grace of God. Andrew and I have been blessed to be able to write this book, and I pray it blesses you even more.