I wish to express my appreciation to a number of individuals who have been instrumental in the development of this book. First and foremost, the contributors have done a superb job of presenting state-of-the-art, original, and authoritative contributions, and they have done so in clear and accessible language—something not easy to achieve. These colleagues rank at the top of their respective areas of research, and their contributions are outstanding. Second, a number of colleagues (and two blind reviewers) provided insights into the general structure, appropriate themes, and selection of contributors for this book; to them I am most grateful. Third, I am indebted to David Cramer and Kristin Swartz for their editorial assistance with a number of the chapters. Fourth, my wife, Tammi, and sons, Justin and Joshua, have been very gracious in granting me additional time to finalize this project; I owe them an extended vacation. Finally, I wish to thank Theo Calderara for his wholehearted support of this project and the entire editorial staff at Oxford University Press for their collaboration and encouragement. (p. vi)