Acknowledgments

Many people helped me as I worked on this book. Above all, love and thanks to Keith, who convinced me I could do it again, and to Jason, Sarah, Neven, and Dylan for their encouragement and for providing a few hours of diversion from the task at hand.

Many thanks to my wonderful editor, Dominic Shakeshaft, who challenged me when I needed it most and who steered me in the right direction when I veered off track. Special thanks to Roger Govier, who did a fantastic job of the technical review and whose enthusiasm kept me motivated.

Thanks also to the great people at Apress: Richard Dal Porto, who kept everything on track; Kim Wimpsett, who polished the text; and Katie Stence, who made it all look terrific on the printed page.

Many thanks to Dave Peterson, from whom I've learned much about Excel and who bravely tested some of the examples in this book. Thanks to Jon Peltier, who has shown me a thing or two about charts and flood insurance and who convinced me to start writing about pivot tables. Thanks to Ron Coderre, who generously shared his pivot table add-in on my web site and inspired me to explore connections to external data.

Thanks to my clients, who remained patient as I juggled projects and writing and who continue to challenge me with interesting assignments.

Finally, thanks to my parents, Doug and Shirley McConnell, and my sister, Nancy Nelson, for their continued love, support, and chocolate. And thanks to Brad, Robert, and Jeffrey Nelson for their cross-country marketing efforts on my behalf.