This book originated as a series of three lectures hosted by Professor Gordon L. Clark at the Oxford School of Geography and the Environment in May 2017. I am most grateful to Prof. Clark and his colleagues and students for the warm hospitality, stimulating environment, and insightful feedback on the ideas presented here.
In turning the lectures into this book, I am especially grateful to Ms. Ismini Ethridge for her superb and comprehensive assistance in the research and preparation of the manuscript. She carried this project forward at every stage, and without her excellent support, the book simply could not have been written. She has been very ably assisted in the home stretch by Ms. Juliana Bartels.
Prof. Gordon McCord at UC San Diego shared his insights, ideas, and invaluable support of the geographic analysis. Of course, any and all remaining errors are solely my own.
I am thrilled and grateful that Columbia University Press is once again publishing my work. The Press’s great attention to detail, superb editorial support, and constant encouragement are an author’s dream. I would like particularly to thank Bridget Flannery-McCoy for her great confidence in the project and Ms. Caelyn Cobb for her exceptional editorial support at all stages of preparing the book.
My wife, Sonia Ehrlich Sachs, is an intellectual partner in every aspect of my work and thinking and, as always, was indispensable for this book. Thank goodness for her wisdom, infinite patience, and deep interest in the material.