(this is a copy, the address got mangled the first time) Greetings Zope Fans, At long last we are officially posting notice that: "The New Zope Book is here!" In mid-December 2001 a book with a ridiculously long title, and author names to match, turned up in the Web section of bookstores here and abroad. Though no known group claimed responsibility at that time, the alleged authors hereby acknowledge paternity. Since our names are on the cover, it seems rather pointless to remain in denial. "Zope: Web Application Development and Content Management" (ISBN # 0735711100) has been released by New Riders, publishers of the hard copy version of "The Zope Book". The authors were convinced that many Zope hopefuls, not unlike ourselves, had wished for supplementary examples beyond those covered in "The Zope Book". We all agreed it would be ideal to have a series of extended explanations of how and why one puts Zope to practical use. So, we went ahead and wrote it. Z:WAD&CM is designed to step the reader through a sequence of progressively more complex "real world" exercises. After a brief overview, the reader is advised to take advantage of the wealth of existing modules by downloading packages and constructing a dynamic, sophisticated web site in short order. Next, the reader is immersed in user and site administration, content management with CMF and Page Templates, indexes and searching via ZCatalog, and external database access using ZopeDAs and ZSQLmethods. Topics covered in the latter chapters will be most relevant to those facing more challenging needs for robust development standards required by mission critical systems. There you will find examples of load balancing and redundancy using ZEO, multi-developer version control with ZCVS, and ZPatterns based application integration techniques. The authors realize that despite the best intentions to present the current "state of the (Zope) art", our book is merely a set of snapshots from scattered quadrants of the rapidly expanding Zope universe. Still, we hope the finished work is useful, helpful, and may even see a second edition one day. Regarding the pace of Zope development, primary author Steve Spicklemire says: "Writing a book about Zope is like making an ice sculpture of rush-hour traffic." Accordingly, errata, updates, and timely tips have already begun to accumulate at the companion web site: http://webdev.zopeonarope.com Our thanks goes out to all the Zope folks around the globe, and at Zope.com. Your dedication and enthusiasm have made Zope an Object Publishing Environment that sets the bar just a bit higher for everything else. Also, many thanks to New Riders for "taking us on", and for jumping into Zope with both feet! Sincerely, Jerry Spicklemire, (also for Steve Spicklemire, Kevin Friedly, and Kim Brand)