Preface

Some time ago I was reading TIME magazine's annual "100 Most Influential" issue.

"Who are these people?", I thought, and “what makes them the 100 most influential people in the world anyway?”

The fact is, I recognized fewer than half of these important names. Of those I recognized, I could try to explain what half of them do, or why they might be considered influential. But “most influential”? As in, "All these people significantly affect most people's lives?" Nope. Not really.

The best part of the entire issue was the last page, where staff writer Joel Stein explained it all. He said, "I don't believe TIME editors think these are the 100 most influential people in the world. I think they want you to think they think these are the 100 most influential people in the world." What an awesome column. Joel Stein...

I like the name Joel. It's my name too. So, while drifting off to sleep, I mused, "Hey if those smart folks at TIME can arbitrarily chose who is important, based on little more than each others' say-so, I'm going to have my say-so too. I'll come up with the most important Joel's of all time.

Remember, I was getting sleepy. Sense had little to do with it.

Dedication

This project is dedicated to all you great Joels out there. My apologies for not including all of you in the book. Also dedicated to my wife, who puts up with lot.

Etymology

Joel- "The Lord is God".... elaborate.....

Joel is supposedly the 133rd most popular first name for a boy in the U.S. Somewhere between John and Jehosophat.

Epilogue

The goals of this book:

• You recognized more of the people in this book than you would have recognized in the TIME 100.
• These Joels have more relevance in most people's lives than the folks in the TIME 100.
• Hopefully, you enjoyed the book & maybe learned something.
• If your name is Joel, your ego has been stroke d, and you're now more sure than ever that you're a wonderful, special person. If that's possible.