The honour for the creation of this two volume book series on stable isotope analytical
techniques must be given to James O'Neil. At the very start of this project I did
not realize that he, together with Zachary Sharp, had begun writing a book on a very
similar subject. Originally James O'Neil and Zachary Sharp were among the first
authors I invited to write a chapter for my book series. It was in this way that I discovered
about their own book project, which already had been in progress for some time.
It was Zachary Sharp in particular who convinced and motivated me, supported by
James O'Neil, to continue my project, after he recognized that the books I had in mind
had a different approach and aimed at a far larger range of elements (isotopes) than
their own. The prospective publication by James O'Neil and Zachary Sharp will have
the form of a textbook and is concentrated more on a purely geochemical field. I am
grateful for their "open-minded attitude".