Americans' health and well-being are slowly but steadily disintegrating at an alarming rate. Americans are living longer, but are they living better? How did we as a nation allow this to happen? How did we as individuals lose our way along the healthy continuum of life? Healthcare Stewardship is the first, authoritative healthcare management text applying the principles and practices of stewardship, a concept with religious roots dating back to biblical times, to the production and delivery of healthcare goods and services. Practicing stewardship is really quite simple. Limited healthcare resources that are available for Americans must be used in a manner that is clinically, ethically, politically, environmentally and socially responsible. Unfortunately, simple in the United States is far from being easily achieved. Bureaucracies at the federal, state and local levels have resulted in creating the most complex healthcare delivery system in the world. The vision behind writing a book on healthcare stewardship is to help Americans get back on track to being healthy, happy and functional human beings. Healthcare stewardship is a concept that needs to be taught at all levels along life's continuum from cradle to grave. A commitment to make all of us healthy and wise consumers of our precious healthcare resources is required in order to achieve a more fulfilling and functional life here on Earth.