After an author responds to outside reviewers' critiques, taking a book from approved-for-publication status to actual publication can be an all-hands-on-deck effort at a publishing house. The staff at the Religious Studies Center is among the best I have encountered. Don Brugger's dedication to a careful, sympathetic, and scrupulous editing made this book, if not quite a silken purse, to refer to an old Scottish proverb, at least much less of a sow's ear. Sam Lambert spent countless hours checking out my numerous citations for accuracy and looking up additional ones where appropriate. Emily V. Rogers has mastered the art of typesetting in an impressive way; Brent Nordgren, the RSC's graphics supervisor, has improved the quality of the images I submitted; and Jared Ludlow, the publications director, has given support to this project. To all I am grateful.