Introduction

Abstract

Hi, you probably don’t know me, but assuming you stick with this book then we’re going to be spending quite a bit of time together. I’m sitting at my desk in my study in Auckland, New Zealand, writing this and you are reading these words. I have no idea where you are; you could be at home, on a bus, train or plane, in a hospital or perhaps sitting on a sunny beach somewhere. You may be reading this as a printed book, much as they’ve looked for centuries, or you may be reading it on a Kindle or iPad. Now here’s the thing—had I written a book 50 years ago, I would have written the book with a typewriter or by hand with a pen. The book would have been printed and bound and you, or your ancestor, would have held and read the book and turned its pages.