William Warren Bartley, III, professor of philosophy at California State University, Hayward from 1973, prior to writing his biography on Erhard, had authored "The Retreat to Commitment" (1962), on the epistemology of Sir Karl Popper; "Wittgenstein" (1973), a biography of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein; edited (1977) Lewis Carroll's "Symbolic Logic" of 1896; and authored a book titled "Morality and Religion" (1971). Bartley was first introduced to and referred to est in March 1972 by a doctor whom he had consulted about his nine-year struggle with insomnia. As a result of his experience in the est training his insomnia was cured. He then became very involved in the est organization, and served for several years as the company's philosophical consultant. He received payments of over US$30,000 in this capacity during the two years he spent writing the book. He also served on the "Advisory Board" of est. Bartley interviewed a number of individuals who were involved in his subject's life and made use of quotations from a wide array of sources. Bartley commented on his subject in an article on the book in "The Evening Independent", stating: "He's not a huckster, although he's a great salesman. I think he's a very good man, a very important man. ... He's a fascinating man. People are interested in him." Life story  The book recounts how Erhard's childhood events, job positions and self-education lead to the development of the est training. Born Jack Rosenberg, Erhard was an inquisitive child who was close to his mother. In his student years, he read profusely and earned superior grades. As a teenager, Erhard experienced both conflicts with his mother and a growing dissatisfaction with his life. Shortly after graduating from high school he married his girlfriend Pat Campbell, who had become pregnant. Instead of pursuing his plans for higher education, he took on a variety of jobs including meat-packing, heating and plumbing, estimating and selling cars. By the age of 21, Erhard had become the top car salesman at the dealership he worked for. By the time he was 25, Erhard and his wife had four children and he was feeling increasingly restless and constrained. He formed a friendship with a woman named June Bryde, which gradually deepened into an affair. He secretly arranged a flight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with June in 1960, leaving behind his wife and their four children, who would not hear from him for twelve years.