Growing up I never read the preface of a book. I always thought "what the hell, I bought the book to read the damn thing...why are you bothering me with a short mis-en-context to put the whole thing into perspective in a convenient package." If only I knew then what I know now, I would have gotten so much more value out of the same effort. A preface puts the entire book into the context the author wants you to view it. Try not to skip them. But you can skip this one if you want. Except don't.