Inthesummerof2003,somebodyontheMySQLmailinglistproposedabookabout MySQL internals. As I read the email, I realized that I had the background to write such a book, but I had just finished writing my first book and was not looking for-ward to writing another. I tried to talk myself out of the responsibility, saying to myself nobody would ever publish a book so technical and specialized. There simply would not be enough of an audience for it.