The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of Howard I. Blutstein, J. David Edwards, Kathryn Therese Johnston, David S. McMorris, and James D. Rudolph, who wrote the 1976 edition of Colombia: Country Study. Portions of their work were incorporated into the present volume.
The authors are grateful to individuals in various agencies of the United States government and private institutions who gave their time, research materials, and special knowledge to provide information and perspective. None of these agencies or institutions is in any way responsible for the work of the authors, however.
The authors also wish to thank those who contributed directly to the preparation of the manuscript. These include Richard F. Nyrop, who reviewed all drafts and served as liaison with the sponsoring agency; Mimi Cantwell, Sharon Costello, Deanna D'Errico, Vincent Ercolano, and Sharon Schultz, who edited the chapters; Martha Hopkins, who managed editing and production; and Barbara Edgerton, Janie L. Gilchrist, and Izella Watson, who did the word processing. Andrea T. Merrill performed the final prepublication editorial review, and Shirley Kessell compiled the index. Malinda B. Neale of the Library of Congress Printing and Processing Section performed phototypesetting, under the supervision of Peggy Pixley.
David P. Cabitto, who was assisted by Sandra K. Cotugno and Kimberly A. Lord, provided invaluable graphics support. David P. Cabitto, Kimberly A. Lord, and Harriett R. Blood prepared the maps. Sandra K. Cotugno deserves special thanks for designing the illustrations for the book's cover and title page of each chapter.
The authors also would like to thank several individuals who provided research support. Arvies J. Staton supplied information on military ranks and insignia, and Susan M. Lender wrote the section on geography in Chapter 2.
Finally, the authors acknowledge the generosity of individuals and the public and private agencies who allowed their photographs to be used in this study. They are indebted especially to those who contributed original work not previously published and to Tim Merrill for his efforts in obtaining many of these photographs.
Data as of December 1988