"Perhaps the greatest value of Frederick Lipman"s new book on initial public offerings derives-as its title indicates-from the emphasis that it places on planning. Lipman makes abundantly clear that an IPO is not something to be rushed into by every fledgling firm, as was typical during the dot.com boom of the late 1990s. Indeed, his extensive treatment of the many aspects of preparing a company for an IPO, particularly the non financial aspects, helps the reader to focus on the most important question of all: Is an IPO appropriate for a given company? Somewhat uniquely, Lipman then asks the further question of whether an international IPO might be appropriate for that company even if a domestic one were not. By doing so, he has made a real contribution to this literature." Kenneth C. Froewiss, Clinical Professor of Finance, NYU Stern School of Business