Acknowledgments
It is fortunate that prospective authors and parents do not start out with perfect information. If they did, there would be fewer books and possibly fewer kids on the planet. In both cases, the initial notion quickly turns to a journey and finally a saga. I am still not sure what follows saga, but I remain hopeful that my grandfather was wrong when he described life to me 20 years ago: “Life, it's bad for a while, then it gets worse.” He died at 89 years of age, insistent to the end that his situation had not materially improved throughout his life: only his ability to cope had improved.
A number of people definitely improved my ability to cope with this saga. The next “Chapter Champions” helped update subject matter content plus breathed life into otherwise inert technical matter.
| Champion | Chapter | Title |
| Gary Fodor | 8 | Fair Market Value |
| Jim Lurie | 9 | Fair Value |
| Chris Cope | 11 | Insurable Value |
| Dat T Do | 12 | FASB Value Worlds |
| Chris Mellen | 13 | Intangible Asset Value |
| Phil Hamilton | 14 | Other Value Worlds |
| John Graham | 17 | Bank Lending |
| Bob Humber | 19 | Equipment Leasing |
| Dan Shaw | 20 | Asset-Based Lending |
| Brandt Brereton | 27 | Employee Stock Ownership Plans |
| Walter Putnam | 29 | Charitable Trusts |
| Dan Prisciotta | 30 | Family Transfers |
| Tim Rhine | 34 | Going Public, Going Private |
Many people helped with the book beyond the subject matter champions. John Paglia not only wrote the foreword but helped with many conceptual issues throughout the book. Phil Hamilton provided great edits and much-needed spiritual support when it was desperately needed. Chris Cope and Dan Prisciotta both went beyond the call of duty. Ultimate thanks go to Sheck Cho and the editors at Wiley who patiently transformed something readable into something worth reading.
In alphabetical order, the next people provided insightful comments: Wayne Ackerman, Chris Blees, Ed Calt, KC Conrad, Ed Giardina, Chuck Knox, Frank Mainville, Kenneth Marks, Mike Nall, Randy Schostag, Sherry Smith, Dr. Stephen Spinelli, Tommy Thompson, Vincent Wolanin, and, last but not least, the Slee twins.