I am fortunate to have been able to write this book. This good fortune began with my appointment to the Fels Staff 23 years ago. It has taken me all that time to understand the complexities of the Fels Longitudinal Study. Writing this book about the study has been a pleasure. I trust the reader will find it pleasant also. Quoting Daniel Defoe: ‘If this work is not both pleasant and profitable to the reader… the fault… cannot be any deficiency in the subject.’

Many helped. Some added to the quality of the study, particularly the generous participants and their relatives, outstanding collaborators and consultants, efficient secretaries and dedicated research assistants. Particular thanks are due to Ruth Bean and Lois Croutwater who, during a joint span of more than 56 years of extraordinary effort, have organized the examinations and maintained contact with the participants. Doctors Lester Sontag and Frank Falkner, the past Directors, provided effective leadership from 1929 to 1979. The Fels Longitudinal Study, supported in its early years by the Samuel S. Fels Fund, continues as part of the Division of Human Biology of the Department of Community Health at Wright State University. This division receives enthusiastic support from the Departmental Chairman (Dr Robert Reece), the School of Medicine and the central administration of Wright State University. Continuation of this support is important because the story is not complete. The significance of the Fels Longitudinal Study increases as the data base enlarges, the serial records become longer, and new techniques are introduced. Additionally, the focus of the Study is shifting rapidly to more applied areas.

Many helped write this book, but they are not to blame for its defects.