The writing of this book has presented extraordinary difficulties in that many of the author's informants with regard to specific health and human rights abuses had to remain completely confidential. Some NGO humanitarian aid personnel, and even some informants from government agencies, told the author that to divulge their name, or even their locality, could expose them to retribution. This has been especially so with regard to any research on the situation in Sudan and Darfur, Burma (Myanmar), Liberia and the Palestinian Occupied Territories. With regard to my work on the Palestine issue, thanks are due to Manal Masalha, Meisoon Shorafa and Maen Areiket. Maps and information about Darfur and Sudan generally were kindly provided by Rashid Elsheikh. Without the patience and hard work of Beth Archer, who word-processed my often impenetrably illegible hand-written manuscript, and who in addition accessed some of the material from the Internet, the project would have been severely impeded. As usual, my editor Gillian Nineham and all of the Radcliffe editorial team, especially Lisa Abbott, Jamie Etherington and Andrea Hargreaves, were not only thorough in maintaining the publisher's high standards, but helpful throughout. Special thanks are due to Gregory Moxon, the publisher's Marketing Manager, for the huge part he played in organizing publicity for the book. Finally, I thank my wife Chris for her forbearance in helping me to see the task through. Without her eyesight, I would have found much of the necessary computer work insufferably difficult.