The Editors: R. Kevin Lacey is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He obtained a B.A. in government from Cornell University and an M.A., in Middle Eastern studies and Ph.D. in Near Eastern languages and civilizations from Harvard University. His fields of specialization include Arabic literature, Arab-Islamic civilization, and cross-cultural encounters involving the West and the Arab-Islamic world. He has published books and articles in his areas of interest, and has taught at Boston College, Cornell University, and Harvard University. Ralph M. Coury is Professor of History at Fairflield University in Connecticut where he specializes in teaching the history of the Middle East and international and cultural studies. He received a B.A. in history from Hamilton College and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern studies from Princeton University. He has written a wide range of works on Orientalism and Arab political and cultural history, including the recently published The Making of an Egyptian Arab Nationalist: The Early Years of Azzam Pasha, 1893-1936.