The team of authors, ReVelle, Whitlatch, and Wright, is well credentialed to provide a text that delivers both solid technical content and quality communication. ReVelle, a professor at Johns Hopkins for more than 30 years, studied with one of the originators of systems analysis in water management and teaches a course in civil systems regularly. ReVelle is also the author, with his wife Penelope, of The Environment, a basic college text that has appeared in three editions, and more recently of The Global Environment. Whitlatch, a professor in civil engineering at Ohio State, has been teaching a popular and well-received civil systems course for over 25 years. Wright, the Dean of Engineering at University of California, Merced, and the founding editor-in-chief of The Journal of Infrastructure Systems, has been teaching courses on civil systems and engineering economics for more than 20 years. The authors have collaborated on research for three decades. All three authors have distinguished records of research and application. They enjoyed writing the text together and will be interested in your comments.