Parts of this book were previously presented at conferences and seminars at the University of Chicago, York University, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), the Advanced Studies Institute of the University of Michigan, Washington University, the University of Cologne, and the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique in Paris. I would like to thank Carolyne Johnson, Beverley Diamond, Stephen Blum, David Cohen, Nicholas Dirks, Dick Fox, Heike Behrend, and Bernard Lortat-Jacob for hosting these events. In addition to these occasions, I benefited enormously from the interaction with my colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin, most notably Gerard Behague, Stuart Goosman, and Steve Slawek. Drafts of various chapters have also been read by Peter Wicke and Stuart Goosman. Thomas Turino read the entire manuscript and provided invaluable comments and criticism. Tom Gruning prepared the index, and Ian Eagleson read the page proofs.