Western Society: A Brief History, Volume 2: From Absolutism to Present
 John P. McKay, Professor of History at the University of Illinois, received his Ph.D. from the University of Columbia, Berkeley in 1968. Author of three books, he won the Herbert Baxter Adams Award from the American Historical Association with his Pioneers for Profit. He is a Senior Fulbright Fellow and recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Bennett D. Hill (deceased), a former Chairman and Professor of History at the University of Illinois, received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1963. He taught at the University of Maryland and was most recently a visiting professor at Georgetown University. He published two books and many journal articles. John Buckler, a Professor of History at the University of Illinois, earned his doctorate at Harvard University in 1973. He has published numerous journal articles and written a monograph,The Theban Hegemony, published by Harvard University Press. Clare H. Crowston, Associate Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, earned her B.A. in 1985 from McGill University and her Ph.D. in 1996 from Cornell University. The author of many articles, she has also writtenFabricating Women: The Seamstresses of Old Regime France, 1675-1791(Duke University Press, 2001), which won two awards, the Berkshire Prize and the Hagley Prize. She is a past-President of the Society for French Historical Studies and a former chair of the Pinkney Prize Committee. Merry Wiesner-Hanks, UWM Distinguished Professor at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, earned her B.A. from Grinnell College in 1973 and her Ph.D. in 1979 at University of Wisconsin – Madison. She is the co-editor of theSixteenth Century Journaland the author or editor of nineteen books and many articles that have appeared in many languages. She is currently the Chief Reader for Advanced Placement World History.