It explains why "20-20 vision" is a myth and why current vision testing in the schools fails because it identifies only a small percentage of the children who are failing at reading and learning due to their undetected vision problems.

These definitions put acuity in its proper place. It is only the beginning of the visual process which results in foresight; imagination; a much greater whole.

Much of the vision care field bases its testing and therapy on the camera model of the eye and thus tests acuity at 20 feet, identifies "eye defects" that result in lowered clarity and then compensates for the defects (not correct them) with lenses. This has been the basis of vision care since the beginning of the profession.

I began working on this book about 6 years ago, at the time I was retiring from medical illustrating. Even though retired, I always received phone calls from friends and acquaintances asking me questions about the eye and its many problems. I often sent off drawings to these people to explain the anatomy of what was wrong with their eye, and it occurred to me that I might write a book that included much of what I have learned about the eye over the course of my career, as well as telling stories of my adventures in the field.

I have at least 10 texts on ophthalmic surgery to refer to for the information in this book. I drew all of the illustrations for this book except for the three at the end, which were drawn for "Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery," By Byron Smith, Richard Lisman, and Frank Nesi.