Hello, my name is David Gardner, and I am the 'Architect' of the book you are interested in. I use a 'construction term' here as this book was built like a building. It was a dream at first, just a vision, but then thoughts turned into plans, and plans became words, and words were chosen and stacked like bricks until structure and size loomed large. My book stands strong.

On my personal business card I have four words under my name that explain who and what I am. They are: Scientist Teacher Author Artist.

Scientist/Teacher: I have always been curious, and science is about knowing, about prediction and problem solving. Our current advanced standard-of-living is based on scientific advancements, from life-saving medicines to lightning fast industrial assembly lines. As a youngster I 'gravitated' toward science and math and history; it was no surprise that I would someday come to teach Science.

Here are some notable achievements in the Science/Teacher part of my life:

8th grade: perfect score on Earth Science final exam (Oh Yeah!)

9th grade: 98 on N.Y. State Regents Biology exam (D'oh! So Close!)

10th grade: 98 on N.Y. State Regents Chemistry exam (Double D'oh!!) It was as a Sophomore that I also took the famous Kuder Occupational Survey Test designed to predict what career path I would be happiest in - top career based on my test responses: H.S. Science Teacher, go figure! Last career choice - Interior Designer. If you've ever seen my home/office/car you'll understand why.

11th grade: Only a 94 on the State Physics exam (one tough test!), but hey, as a Junior I was still the only person in the school to even score in the 90's. Also notable, I earned the highest score on the N.Y. State Regents History exam that year; hey, the science guy knows his history, too. The National Honor Society inducted me this year as well.

High School Graduation: I was named Top Science Graduate and winner of the Bausch and Lomb Science Award and Medal which included a partial scholarship to Rochester Institute of Technology (I declined). I was also awarded a full 4-Year Army R.O.T.C. Scholarship to the college of my choice, and I chose the Engineering program at Clarkson University in upstate New York.

After changing my major from Electrical Engineering to Engineering and Management, I would graduate earning a B.S. degree and also a commission in the U.S. Army as an Officer.

I chose Ordnance, or 'munitions', as my military specialty, and it was at Redstone Arsenal that I achieved a perfect score on the Army Officer Nuclear Weapons Exam (something I'm told that doesn't happen very often; the Instructors have to make a 'new exam' then - they were not pleased). During Operation Desert Shield I was a reserve Lieutenant attached to the command center at Ft. Bliss El Paso, Texas (home of the famous Patriot Missile) during deployments to Saudi Arabia. I did not go overseas.

After my time in the military, I tried my hand at several careers: Industrial Sales (pumps, hydraulics, electrical maintenance items), Agricultural Sales (seeds, plants, greenhouse supplies), Restaurant Management, and College Admissions. This 'academic job' rekindled my desire to teach, something that has always burned deep inside me. I love knowing about things, and I love sharing that knowledge and understanding. It was time to go back to school.

So, in my late 20's, I decided to take more undergraduate courses in the 'Hard Sciences' - courses that I did not take at Clarkson, courses like: Geology, Astronomy, Oceanography, Meteorology, and Nutrition. I also took graduate level courses at S.U.N.Y. Buffalo and completed a New York State sanctioned student teacher apprenticeship.

I also spent time (2 years) working with disadvantaged children in a federally sponsored school-to-work transition program called Project S.A.F.A.R.I. (Students Attaining Future Aspirations, Respect, and Inspiration) while achieving my teaching credentials. This was done in a high school district dealing with the socio-economic problems of high absenteeism (30% absent daily, that's 500 students out of 1,500 missing) and high drop-out rates. My enthusiasm and love of science touched a lot of children's lives.

Being a former Army Officer and scoring 97% on the N.Y. State Teacher's Exam (Earth Science) meant that I would find many possible teaching jobs out there in the specialties of Physics and Earth Science, and I was right. I've taught in both Public and Private Schools in and around New York City. The courses I've taught included: Conceptual Physics, Honors Physics, A.P. Physics, Astronomy, Meteorology, Geology, Environmental Science, and Earth Science.

But I was ready for more, I wanted to take my teaching from reaching only a hundred-or-so students per year to thousands, possibly millions per year. It was time to make the World my classroom.

A lofty goal to be sure, but I'm a person who feels that if I work hard and stay focused, then I can achieve any goal that I really set my mind to, look at what I've already achieved! When this book was begun, I had quite the 'teaching gig' in New York City. My classroom had clout, I taught science in the J. Robert Oppenheimer Laboratory (this 'father of the Atomic Bomb' had been a young student at this private school years ago - I taught physics where he learned physics). Some of my students were also of 'famous' lineage: Steven Spielberg's son, Bette Midler's daughter, also Richard Dreyfuss' and Stone Phillips' kids - the list is longer, and my mother and others thought I was a bit daft to 'give this all up' and move to the mountains to write a 'strange' book. This seemed very risky indeed.

And now we get to the Author/Artist part of our conversation. Risky? You bet it was, but it was also very Personally Rewarding. Once the book started to take form I knew that perhaps this could also be Financially Rewarding. I had done some research, and I was learning that with today's technology it was getting easier and easier to get a book printed and published. The big problem seemed to be creating a book that people would want to read.

And that was my task, I wanted to write a book that played to my strengths, my enthusiasm and knowledge, but it also had to have lots of general appeal, it had to be special, to somehow be beautiful, it had to 'Amaze'. Now I know a lot about nature and humanity, surely I can write a book that will take readers on an amazing journey. Sometimes a book can change our lives - I wanted this book to go farther and do more than any other recent book has done; I wanted to change lives, I wanted to teach on a grand scale.

To do that I would set the bar very high - after all, most Americans steer away from 'non-fiction' books. If I was to capture the attention and time of the beach-goers, the Grandmothers, the post-pubescent/sexually-curious students, the religious fundamentalists, then I would have to do something amazing. I would need art to help me. Creative choice of words and stories were needed - HOW this book was written was just as important, maybe even more so, than WHAT this book is about.

You see, I wanted you, the reader, to learn, to possibly change for the better with the knowledge you gained. But to do that you would have to keep turning the pages, you would have to be 'entertained' and compelled to keep reading - "Just what crazy thing is David Gardner going to write about in the Next Chapter?"

I am an Author, but that also makes me an Artist. I heard a quote recently from cartoonist Scott Adams (he draws 'Dilbert') who said, and I paraphrase, 'Creativity gives you the freedom to make mistakes, Art is knowing the difference.'

And so I write, I create, and I make mistakes. I am an Artist. My words are designed, they are styled, they are glued together by human thought. They are my mosaic of tiny common letters laid out en masse in order to please the eye, the ear, the mind. Have I achieved my vision? Please read and judge for yourself, I can guarantee you that I've worked very hard to appeal to your senses. Go on, take a bite, I dare you. Let the flavors of "Whispers" carouse across your brain.

Scientist Teacher Author Artist - I am proud to be your Guide, please get ready for one wild ride. Thank You.

David M. Gardner
Oct. 2007