Without the advice, commitment, and guidance of Benjamin Z. Kedar and Michael Heslop, this volume would not have been possible, and we thank them for their most generous support and expertise. Above all, we thank all of our contributors who agreed to share their fascinating research with us for this book. Special thanks are extended to Robert Kool who also contributed to this introduction. Thanks are due to the series editor, Christoph T. Maier and staff at Routledge, particularly to Stewart Beale, and Kelly Winter of Newgen Publishing UK for the grace and patience during the process.