Acknowledgments

No writer manages to create a book alone. Many wonderful people have helped me with their knowledge and concern, their support and their unstinting advice—this book never could have been written without them!

Thanks are due to Sheeri Cabral for making an introduction, Cecilia Tan, Vandana Singh, and Sarah Smith for writer geeking on the finer points, and Karen Marcovici for shelter and research assistance.

A very special thank you to Aaron Macks for Akkadian. I have never met Aaron except by e-mail, and he has answered endless questions very quickly with amazing patience. Any mistakes are clearly my own.