I'd like to thank Richard Narramore, my editor at Wiley, for his invaluable assistance in shaping and promoting this work. It was a pleasure kicking ideas around with him. I also appreciate the efforts from Deborah Schindlar, Donna J. Weinson, Paul McCarthy, Jessica Filippo, and Victoria Anllo to make this book a reality.

Thanks to illustrator Mark “Bingo” Barnes for his drawings: they add a fun dimension to this work.

I'm also grateful to the following for their assistance along the way: Stuart Kaplan, Bobbie Bensaid, Ricardo Cruz, and Paula Palmer at U.S. Games for their championing of Wise Fool ideas; Rick Wolfe, Beth deGuzman, and Dan Ambrosio at Hachette; and, finally, 3D designers Jason and Zach Hilbourne, new media savant David Armano, business mentor Wiley Caldwell, Ethernet inventor Bob Metcalfe, video game pioneer Nolan Bushnell, world-class toy expert Peter Craig, AI wizard Philip Dhingra, novelist Katherine Seligman, publishing legend Bill Shinker, and artist George Willett for their many-decades long support of my projects.

I appreciate Alex von Oech, Jodi von Oech, Athena von Oech, Andrew Maisel, and Heather Gamper for sharing their ideas with me about this book.

And, finally, many thanks to Wendy, my wife and lifelong muse, for her contributions. The Creative Contrarian would not have happened without her insights and guidance.