Acknowledgments
I wish to thank the many individuals at Baker Books for their confidence and enthusiasm in publishing this volume. From beginning to end I have benefited from an unswerving professionalism and a very accommodating spirit. Thanks to Michael Cook, Heather Brewer, and Ruth Anderson for their expertise and collaboration with me in matters of design and publicity. Special appreciation goes to Executive Editor Robert Hosack for his confidence in my work over the years and in this book specifically. To my editor James Korsmo I owe a debt of gratitude for going above and beyond the call of duty in working though the manuscript. He is an avid reader and scholar, and his editorial proficiency has served this volume well. I also thank my friend and colleague Jean-Paul Heldt for his careful reading and hunt for errors. To the extent that there are any errors remaining, I take sole responsibility.
Without my husband John Worst, I cannot imagine how I would have brought this book to completion. He read through and edited the entire manuscript four times. And not just that. He pored over it as though it were his own. Our lively interaction and arguments over points of interpretation and presentation are lurking behind virtually every page. To him I express my profound gratitude and abiding love.