I would like to personally acknowledge several colleagues for their valuable comments in reviewing various drafts of this manuscript: Brian Adams, James Christie, Peter Hajnal, Katherine Marshall, Yoshinobu Miyake, Georgia Wralstad Ulmschneider, and Marco Ventura. Their insights proved immensely helpful for improving the manuscript. I would also like to express my appreciation to the staff at Brill and their peer reviewers for their interest, encouragement, support, and help in this project.
Special thanks go to my friend T. Eric Evans, who nurtured me through the final days of major manuscript revision, and to my daughter, Tamara Aeschliman, and grandson, Elijah, for their patience in putting up with the long hours spent completing this book.
This work was partially funded by a summer research grant from the Purdue Research Foundation. My university provided more than financial support, however. I would like to express my gratitude to Ludwika Goodson and members of the ipfw Faculty Writing Circle who encouraged me to continue with this writing project during a time involving some difficult transitions.