Acknowledgments
This volume is the product of a great number of people, all of whom contributed to
it either directly or indirectly. The first who must be acknowledged is my late
father, Cliff Hanks, who many years ago bought my first subscription toNational
Geographicmagazine and ignited my interest in other places, peoples, and cul-
tures. I have never stopped learning about geography since receiving that first
issue. I am in the debt of many scholars and professors at the University of
Missouri and the University of Kansas, where I received several degrees in the dis-
cipline of geography. The department at Missouri gave me my first opportunity to
teach geography, and much to my astonishment (and that of some of my early
students, I am sure), I have been doing justthatforthepast25years.Professor
Jesse Wheeler, who taught geography to thousands of students at the University
of Missouri for several decades, played an important role in further stimulating
my interest in the world, as did my advisor there, Professor Trent Kostbade. My
advisor at the University of Kansas, Professor Leslie Dienes, gave generously of
his time and expertise, and also taught me a great deal about economic geography
and the vast stretches of Eurasia. There are many others who must remain
unnamed, but who helped me in innumerable ways. I am of course grateful to
Steve Stadler for his contributions to this work and sharing his knowledge of
physical geography. I worked with several editors at ABC-CLIO over the course
of writing: Lynn Jurgensen, David Paige, Kim Kennedy-White, and Robin Tutt
all provided useful and timely feedback, as well as a nearly limitless reserve of
patience. Finally, my wife Oydin, mother Frances, and daughter Kami all tolerated
my long hours and piles of books as I worked through the manuscript. I thank them
most of all.
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