I should like to thank those who have read and commented on all or part of the manuscript: Lionel Abel, Edward Ahearn, Charles Boer, Gerald Bond, Clint Goodson, Flora Levin, Samuel R. Levin, Thomas McFarland, Irving Massey, Charles Segal, and Herbert Schneidau. Saul Myers, my research assistant, and Angelika Webb, my secretary, were also resourcefully helpful in the preparation of copy.
Two research establishments, to which I owe thanks, accorded me their facilities while I was working over parts of the book: the Fondation Hardt in Geneva and the Camargo Foundation in Cassis.
I am grateful to the editors of Arion, Boundary 2, Helios, and MLN, who published sections of the book in their journals.
My wife, Carol, remains the sort of marvelous companion and adviser whose very presence makes possible the conception of such undertakings as this book.