Acknowledgments

This guide reflects generous advice from a number of colleagues at Nassau Community College: Helen Collins, Elaine Hughes (Professor Emerita), and Jay Silverman in the English Department provided thoughtful comments and insights; the staff of the Academic Computer Services, and Marsha Speigelman and all the reference librarians helped with technicalities; any mistakes are mine, not theirs.

I'm particularly grateful to Jane Collins, at Pace University, for her detailed commentary on the manuscript and a much-needed questioning of key points, and to Scott Zaluda at Nassau Community College for his intelligent, thorough review.

At McGraw-Hill, Tim Julet has been a superlative editor. He contributed to the content of the first edition and suggested modifications for the second. Its position on the Web is due to his vision and energy. Larry Goldberg assured the careful attention to the spirit and letter of this book. They simplified my task considerably.