Acknowledgments

We’d like to thank everyone at Manning Publications who helped get this book off the ground, including Erin Twohey and Michael Stephens for offering us the opportunity to work on a revised edition of Clojure in Action; Karen Miller for thoroughly reviewing the manuscript in development; Joseph Smith for his expert technical editing; and Kevin Sullivan, Jodie Allen, Linda Recktenwald, and Mary Piergies for guiding the book through production.

We’d also like to thank the reviewers who read the chapters numerous times during development and who provided invaluable feedback: Bruno Sampaio Alessi, David Janke, Fernando Dobladez, Gary Trakhman, Geert Van Laethem, Gianluigi Spagnuolo, Jeff Smith, Jonathan Rioux, Joseph Smith, Justin Wiley, Palak Mathur, Rick Beerendonk, Scott M. Gardner, Sebastian Eckl, and Victor Christensen.

Thanks also to our MEAP (Manning Early Access Program) readers, who posted comments and corrections in the Author Online forum. We appreciate your interest and support.

Finally, we’d like to thank the prophet of immutability, Rich Hickey, for creating Clojure and encouraging us to program more simply.

Amit Rathore

Writing a book while working on a startup (and having your first child) is definitely not a recipe for relaxation! I would never have managed to get through both editions without the support of my incredibly patient wife, Deepthi. There were times when I just hit a blank wall and her encouragement is all that kept me going. Thanks, sweetheart, I could never have done this without you!

I would also like to thank my parents who started me down this path all those years ago. I grew up in India at a time when computers were these fantastical things, out of reach for most people. They took a loan to buy me a computer, instead of buying their first car, and without that I wouldn’t be here today. So thanks a million, Mom and Dad!

I also want to acknowledge Ravi Mohan, who in 2001 pointed me to Lisp and to Paul Graham’s essays. Thanks for showing me the way! And, I guess, thanks also to Paul Graham, who is an inspiration to many of us.

Thanks to the folks at Runa, for letting me work on this book. Ashok Narasimhan, the founder, was extremely supportive of the whole effort. The rest of my colleagues were also very supportive. Specifically, I’d like to thank Kyle Oba and George Jahad for their feedback and encouragement.

Finally, I’d like to give special thanks to Siva Jagadeesan who has supported me throughout this effort in so many ways, and to Franics Avila, for stepping up and helping update the book for the second edition.

Francis Avila

First of all, I would like to thank Amit Rathore, whose first edition of Clojure in Action was important for my own introduction to Clojure three years ago. Though I have remodeled and redecorated, the original sturdy columns are yours and remain the true foundation of this book.

I must also thank my wife, Danielle, who encouraged me to accept Manning’s offer to coauthor the second edition, patiently endured long nights with our newborn daughter while I wrote, and offered another pair of proofreading eyes. Thank you for your love and support in spite of my strange obsession with parentheses.

I also thank Breeze EHR, the tiny startup which three years ago first plunged me into the wild and wonderful world of production Clojure. I thank especially Tyler Tallman, the founder, heart, and soul of the company, who rescued me from the PHP mines. And I’m sorry for being a curmudgeon every time you share an exciting new idea with me.