In the fall of 1992 I was invited by Professor Changho Keem to visit Seoul National University and give a series of talks. I was asked to write a monograph based on my talks, and the result was published by the Global Analysis Research Center of that University in 1994. The monograph treated deficiency modules and liaison theory for complete intersections. Over the next several years I continually thought of improvements and additions that I would like to make to the manuscript, and at the same time my research led me in directions that gave me a fresh perspective on much of the material,...