About the Authors

Susan Bush:

From her first computer experience in 1984 - a used Apple II presented by her father after he upgraded to an later model - Susan Hussey Bush has been hooked on this amazing (and sometimes frustrating) tool of the modern world. The 1985 purchase of the state of the art IBM XT with an astounding 10 mb hard drive opened the door to database development. That first flat database, Nutshell, showed her that one did not have to be a programmer to develop applications. Later, she began the search for a relational database that did not require programming skills. Alpha Four, a DOS product, met those requirements. When Alpha Five was released, she moved to the Windows version. After expending considerable effort learning the program and designing on her laptop, it was stolen. The only copy of the database was gone and a serious set­back resulted. The good news is that by the time she started over, Alpha Five version 3, with sig­nificant improvements over the earlier versions, had been released.

The development of a database for her gov­ernment bidding company, Liberty Food Mar­keters Co., then began in earnest - this time with backups! Today, that application contains more than 60 tables and 75 sets. As a non-program­mer, Susan has set up 100 saved operations to import, reformat and export data. She has since sold the business to her son, Dave, who contin­ues to use Alpha Five to stay current with the demands of government bidding and to offer customers outstanding service.

Susan has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Archi­tectural Design. She brings that training to her database design, focusing on well organized, attractive forms and reports. Alpha Five allows her to create database applications reflecting her belief that software should be user-friendly.

Presently living in Flat Rock, North Carolina, she travels extensively with her husband, Rich­ard Bush. There are seven children and eight grandchildren in their blended family, spread across the country. Mike, Liz and Walter Hussey live in the Florida Keys. JR Hussey and his wife, Carin Young, live in Mill Valley, CA. In Rumson, New Jersey, Susan’s hometown, Dave Hussey keeps busy with Liberty Food Marketers Co. Rick Bush’s daughters, Taylor, Jordan and Lind­sey live in Pea Ridge, Arkansas. He and his old­est daughter, Hailey, live in Neosho, MO, where Richard grew up. Ross and Mariola Bush live in Rolla, Missouri where Mariola recently gradu­ated as a Civil Engineer and Ross is studying the law. Their new baby, Clara Rose, is a delight. Residing in Fort Smith, Arkansas are Missy, her husband, Jeff Brown and son Jake. Kathleen and Sands Orris and their sons, William and Fos­ter make their home in Cumming, Georgia.

Sophie and Hank, their English Springer Spaniels enrich their lives and keep them smiling every day. They are both rescues. Sophie was about two years old when she came to them in 2006. Hank arrived in 2008 just before his 2nd birthday. Their personalities are very different. For example, Sophie sits gracefully, like a queen, while Hank flops. Sophie is very careful with her toys, carrying them delicately, never damaging a fiber. Hank chews them up!

Dr. Peter Wayne

Liberty Manuals is honored to distribute Dr. Wayne's book, Alpha Five: Xbasic for Everyone. One of the foremost authorities on Alpha Five, he has worked with Xbasic since the early days of Alpha Five version 1.

Peter is a gastroenterologist in Yonkers, New York. He has regularly appeared in Castle-Connolly, Westchester Magazine and New York Magazine's "Best Doctors" lists, but we like him for his encyclopedic knowledge of Xbasic and his clear, often humorous, expository style. Both novice and experienced programmers will find nuggets scattered through the volume, which is amply illustrated with code samples. Some reader comments on this book:

I wish I'd had this book when I had to learn Xbasic.
  - Selwyn Rubbins, Alpha Software employee

Can we get him to write something about Access?
   - Bill Geats, Macrosoft

Even a dummy like me can understand it!
   - Gov. Sarah Patent

Best read since "Pride and Prejudice"
   - Anonymous

It doesn't take much to figure out that many spoonfuls of sugar make the medicine go down! We love working with Peter because his writings take a serious subject like programming and lighten it with laughter.

Susan Bush
"Alpha Five Made Easy"

Hank and Sophie