The best and worst thing about authoring a psychology textbook is that it is a continuous work in progress. Psychology is such a dynamic field that whenever an author comes close to capturing it, it shape-morphs, sprints ahead, and laughs. For nearly three decades, this pursuit was my greatest academic challenge and pleasure. When I finally decided to drop this chase and devote more time to a new one, Worth Publishers pressed on to find a new author. In my conceit, I said, in effect, “You’ll never find someone whose vision of psychology is close enough to mine and whose drive and ability for this pursuit is sufficient to maintain the book’s spirit.” But they didn’t listen; and when they found David F. Bjorklund—a superb researcher, thinker, and writer whose work I already greatly admired—I was glad they hadn’t listened. How flattering it was to know that he was interested in taking over this chase, and how grateful I am that he has continued it so beautifully.
David is no stranger to textbook writing. He has coauthored several child developmental psychology textbooks, and his Children’s Thinking text is currently in its fifth edition. David is the perfect choice as a coauthor for this book. We met briefly at a professional meeting a few years ago; we had admired each other’s research and writing and found we shared similar perspectives about psychology, how to teach it, and how to write about it.
Thank you, David; I can’t imagine anyone more qualified than you for this pursuit. And thank you, Chris Cardone at Worth, for finding him.
Peter Gray
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