xv Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank George Butler, our original editor at ABC-CLIO, who welcomed us, encouraged us, and was kind and helpful to us as we started our plan- ning and research. Many thanks are due to John Wagner, senior development editor, who supervised our work for the final two years. He was unfailingly available, consid- erate, and supportive. Other members of the writing, editing, and marketing staff at ABC-CLIO also contributed to the success of this work. Their help has been much appreciated. Many thanks to the Academic Affairs office at King’s College, Wilkes- Barre, which allowed a reduced teaching load to provide additional time to devote to researching and writing this work. Lastly, we would like to thank Christopher Bellitto, PhD, who first suggested this project to us.