The idea for compiling a book on coccidioidomycosis first began to take shape in my mind in 1976 at an annual meeting of the Coccidioidomycosis Study Group (see Chapter 23) in Palo Alto. In my discussions with the chairman, Demosthenes Pappagianis, we agreed that considerable data had accumulated in the almost 20 years since the publication of Marshall Fiese's landmark book, Coccidioidomycosis (Charles C Thomas, Spring- field, Ill., 1958). Pappagianis encouraged me to consider writing a new book. Also about this time, my Stanford colleague Tom Merigan was collaborating in assembling a series...