Robinson Ken - The element: how finding your passion changes everything

HOW FINDING YOUR PASSION
CHANGES EVERY THING

They say it takes a village to raise a baby. Rearing a book like this takes a small metropolis. I know I have to say I cant thank everyone, and I really cant. I do have to single out a few people, though, for special service awards.

First and foremost, my wife and partner, Terry. This book simply wouldnt be in your hands but for her. Its origins were in an offthecuff remark I made at a conference a few years ago. I had just told the Gillian Lynne story, which now opens chapter 1 of the book. In passing, I said that one of these days I was going to write a book about stories like that. Ive since learned not to say these things out loud in front of Terry. She asked me when did I have in mind. Soon, I said, denitely soon. After a few months had passed, she started it herself, wrote the proposal, worked on the ideas, did some of the initial interviews, and then found the agent, Peter Miller, who was to help make it happen. With the foundations laid so solidly, and the escape routes closed so rmly, I nally kept my word and got on with the book.

I want to thank Peter Miller, our literary agent, for all his great work, not least in bringing Lou Aronica and me together. I travel a lottoo much, reallyand producing a book like this needs time, energy, and collaboration. Lou was the ideal partner. He is seriously professional: sage, judicious, creative, and patient. He was the calm center of the project as I orbited the earth, sending notes, drafts, and second thoughts from airports and hotel rooms. Between us, we also managed to steer a successful course between the often comic conicts of British and American English. Thank you, Lou.

My son, James, gave up his precious, nal student summer to pore over archives, journals, and Internet sites, checking facts, dates, and ideas. Then he debated virtually every idea in the book with me until I was worn out. Nancy Allen worked for several months on research issues under increasingly tight deadlines. My daughter, Kate, had a wonderfully creative collaboration with Nick Egan to produce a unique Web site that shows all the other work were now doing. Our assistant, Andrea Hanna, worked tirelessly to orchestrate the myriad moving parts in a project like this. We wouldnt still be standing up without her.

As the book was taking shape, we were extremely fortunate to have the wise and creative counsel of our publisher, Kathryn Court, at Viking Penguin. Her benign form of intimidation also ensured that we got the book nished in decent time.

Finally, I have to thank all of those whose stories illuminate this book. Many of them spent precious hours, amid very busy lives, to talk freely and passionately about the experiences and ideas that lie at the heart of The Element. Many others sent me moving letters and emails. Their stories show that the issues in this book reach into the core of our lives. I thank all of them.

Its usual to say, of course, that whatever good things other people have contributed, any faults that remain in the book are my responsibility alone. That seems a bit harsh to me, but I suppose its true.