Like anything, these works do not just occur in isolation; acknowledgements are required to the multiple individuals and teams that worked on the project.
To the contributors who saw the goal of the project, and who saw it through – thank you.
To the individuals who read, re-read and begrudgingly read for a third time the entire manuscripts, made helpful comments, and who still seemed to be willing to read it a fourth time – thank you.
To Lindy Melman and the Brill team, who assisted with the entire publishing process; to Amara Kerkhove-Kelly for her fine editorial work; and to Ms Helen Jeffcoat, who compiled the index – thank you.
To my mother & father, who from my birth have fostered a love and respect of the different cultures of the world – thank you.
And finally, to my wife – thank you for your constant support of these projects of mine, and your enthusiasm after having read the first draft in claiming that we would now be rich for having discovered the cure for insomnia.