My section in this book was written under difficult conditions not unlike those facing Friedrich Schiller (if one is permitted for a moment to prepare great things with small) when he was working on Wilhelm Tell and Demetrius, which he never finished.
I would like particularly to thank my dear friend Bruce Hoffman, without whose continued encouragement this final piece would not have been possible. A work such as this could not have been completed without the contributions of several others, including Christopher Wall, my coauthor. Nicholas Vincent and Jordan Vincent both typed as I dictated, located authoritative sources, and assisted in the organization, composition, and structure of this work. Hijab Shah and my friend Heba El-Shazli helped translate Arabic passages into English and put them into their proper context. Irena Lasota and Jordan Vincent provided insightful feedback and reviewed the final manuscript. But also the following were of great help: Lauren Clemens, Jonathan Challgren, Sam Miner, Marissa Papatola, Melissa Goodall, Benjamin Aziza, Gladys Kamau, Chiara De Cuia, and Antonia Ward.
I know that not all of them agreed with every word of mine, but they still helped me, and I greatly benefited.
For me, being able to contribute to this project has been one of the greatest honors of my life, and I want to thank Walter for giving me this opportunity. Over the years since I have been working with him, Walter and his wife, Susi, have shown me nothing but support and love. I would also like to thank my two mentors, Bruce Hoffman and Fernando Reinares, for their guidance, instruction, and friendship and for listening to early draft ideas for this project. I have learned so much from the two of them that the parts of this work that succeed I owe to their intellectual guidance. I’d also like to give a special thanks to our literary agent, Joe Spieler, for his vote of confidence in my ability and for helping me shepherd this project. Finally, I would like to thank all my close friends and family who provided emotional and intellectual support when I found myself lost in writing. Much of this was written during a period of duress and stress, and without your willingness to listen to me speak at length, I know I would not have finished this work.