As J. Nicholas Entrikin writes this preface, helicopters drone overhead and sirens blare as firefighters work on a nearby hillside to contain a brushfire. They labor to protect my neighborhood and community, and I continue to work at my computer. Fire is not an uncommon occurrence in this natural environment. Except for the individuals fighting the fire and those whose homes are endangered by it, life goes on as usual in the local community, interrupted occasionally by a glance toward the hills.