Acknowledgments

This book has benefited to an exceptional degree from the insights and advice of colleagues, friends and family. Its shortcomings would have been tenfold were it not for their scrutiny of earlier drafts. For their generosity in sharing their time and knowledge, I am deeply indebted to Sasha Aikhenvald, Eleanor Coghill, Michal Deutscher, Bob Dixon, Avrahamit Edan, Olga Fischer, Jim Hurford, Tomas Klenke, Bert Kouwenberg, Peter Matthews, Ferdinand von Mengden, Reviel Netz, Nicholas Postgate, Uri Rom, Anette Rosenbach, Katharine Scarfe Beckett, Michael Steen, Peter Steen, Balázs Szendrői, Kriszta Szendrői, Ragnhild Tønnessen.

I am grateful to Caroline Dawnay, whose literary instincts helped to make the book publishable; to Ravi Mirchandani, for his deft editorial guiding hand; to Sara Bershtel, for her astute editing at the eleventh hour; and to Caroline Knight, Annie Lee, and especially Andrea Belloli, for seeing the book through production.

I also wish to thank the following for their help: Jan Gerrit Dercksen, Ben Haring, Paul Heggarty, Catherine Heyrendt, Bram Jagersma, Alwin Kloekhorst, Guus Kroonen, Bettelou Los, Robert Meekings, Hans Frede Nielsen, Ségolène Plyer, Sophie van Romburgh, Gerjan van Schaaik, Özlem Schmidt, Claudia di Sciacca, Christina Staffe, Rosemary Steen, Marten Stol, Klaas Veenhof, Jake Wilson.

Much of the research for the book was done during a fellowship at St John’s College, Cambridge, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the Master and Fellows of St John’s for the privilege of working in such a stimulating academic environment.

My chief thanks, however, go to those whose encouragement, judgement, and inspiration were indispensable from first to last: Jan Hendrik Schmidt and, above all, Janie Steen.

G. D.

Amsterdam, December 2004