Bonds: The Unbeaten Path to Secure Investment Growth is a major milestone in our careers because it has enabled us to clearly articulate our philosophy and deeply held beliefs about the importance of safe bonds—for both income and growth—in the portfolios of individual investors.
Our editor, Mary Ann McGuigan, made the most significant contribution to this book, and we are deeply grateful for her help. With a fine scalpel, she quickly and deftly sculpted our thoughts. Her insights into the book's structure, organization, and style shaped its form and content. We also want to express our appreciation to the staff at Bloomberg Press for their expert and very professional help in producing this book.
We particularly wish to thank and acknowledge the help of three special people: John B. Brynjolfsson, CFA, Managing Director, Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), who took time from his incredibly busy schedule to write the foreword to the book; Victor F. Keen, Chair of the Tax Department, Duane Morris LLP, who reviewed some of the tax aspects of bonds; and our son-in-law, Evan B. Carpenter, who provided invaluable help in multiple reviews of Part 1 of the book, which focuses on the relationship of stocks and bonds. As you shall see, we were fortunate that he likes baseball as well as golf.
We would like to express our deep appreciation to the investment planners and investment professionals who generously stepped up to help us by reviewing chapters of the book and by sharing their wisdom with us. We take responsibility for any errors. We thank Jeffrey B. Broadhurst, George Connerat, Rick Dunphy, Joe Gaskey, Richard W. Kidd, Jeff Metz, and Arthur Sinkler. And we're grateful to our son Scott Richelson, an innovative young lawyer, who gave us many thoughtful comments on the chapter he reviewed.
We wish to acknowledge our friends in the investment community who teach us daily about bonds: Patrick Coyne, Jenny Ellis, Tim Hlavacek, Charles Ripley, Pete Rossi, and Debra Weiner.
Special thanks go to our dear friends and family, who have advised us and supported us throughout this project: Carole and Emilio Gravagno, Drs. Sam and Diana Kirschner, George Robinson and Dr. Abby Van Voorhees. Thanks also to Judy and Milton Moskowitz, who protected our time to write. We are grateful to our daughter, Jolie Carpenter, and our granddaughters, Maya and Emily, who bring the whys of saving into focus.
We learn about investments and the real world every day from our friends and fellow investors who provide the real-life context to our study and work. By asking questions and sharing aspects of their lives with us, they have enhanced and sharpened our skills. For this, we wish to acknowledge and thank Katharine Ayers, Dean Bress, Esq., John Clements, Jerry and Lois Cooper, Christopher Doyle, Esq., Mark Dresnick, Esq., Colleen Gordon, Ellen Greif, David Lihn, Esq., Drs. Gary and Elaine Liversidge, Ron and Holly Flaherty, Michael C. and Neeru Phillips, Dr. Linda Ripstein, Juliet Spitzer, Phil Wachs, Kevin West, and Dr. Stanley Wulf.
We were inspired by the love and encouragement offered us by our association with the Souls Network: Don Arnoudse, Peter Blake, Rich Constantine, Vince DiBianca, Jeffrey DiFrancesco, Tom D'Aquanni, Tony Freedley, Dr. Sam Kirschner, Anton T. Lahnston, Dave Laveman, and Jim Selman.