Phil Ballard, the author of various Sams Teach Yourself titles, graduated in 1980 with an honors degree in electronics from the University of Leeds, England. Following an early career as a research scientist with a major multinational, he spent a few years in commercial and managerial roles within the high technology sector, later working full time as a software engineering consultant. Operating as "The Mouse Whisperer" (www.mousewhisperer.co.uk ), Ballard has spent recent years involved solely in website and intranet design and development for an international portfolio of clients, as well as writing numerous technical books and articles.