JAMES F. VENINGA was Executive Director of the Texas Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, from 1975 to 1997. He is currently president of the Institute for the Humanities at Salado, Texas, where he lives. He holds a B.A. degree from Baylor University, an M.T.S. degree from Harvard Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from Rice University. He has edited or co-edited four other books.