I’ve also received dozens of emails on the subject of overnight shipping, including two generous ones from current UPS employees apologizing for the problem. One of them offered to look into the matter (which doesn’t appear necessary, though I am saving his contact information for Monday); the other pointed out that UPS has strong customer satisfaction–evidence here. I have also been regaled with horror stories, many of them specific to UPS, but many of them not. There are clearly plenty of people who trust their important packages to UPS. Still, a few general observations: Many people think that Fed Ex is best for overnight delivery of small packages that absolutely need to arrive on time (my case) and that UPS is better for boxes that can take two or three days. A couple of readers suggest USPS, though one also had this to say: “Who else are you going to trust? The Post Office? Please.” Several pointed out that UPS is a union company and Fed Ex isn’t. Finally, a couple of people wondered why the heck my co-author and I weren’t using email. Quick answer: We have been, for about a year. Now that we’re in the very final stage of proofreading, we need to exchange a marked-up hard copy with the production people at the publishing house. I’m sure there’s a high-tech way around this, but it’s actually how things are still done at this stage–and we’re playing by their rules. Thanks very much to all who wrote.