Confusion now hath made his masterpiece Macbeth II iii 72 Whence and what are those execrable shape? Paradise Lost Ib 1 681 Confusion worse confounded Paradise Lost Ib 1 995 When the manuscript for the first part of this book was proposed, it was anticipated that the discussion of the entire field of protein se quencing could be covered in a single volume - from purification and characterization of the protein through fragmentation by chemical or enzymic means and, finally, to reassembly of the identified individual peptides into the reconstructed total sequence. It soon became evident that this would not be possible. While the intent was to restrict the expose of procedures only to that information concerned with "hands on" wet chemistry, it became apparent that a thorough presentation would require, in addition, a discussion of certain instrumental and more theoretical approaches not included in the first volume. Furthermore, the entire understanding of the field of protein sequencing has advanced appreciably since the inception of this book. The purpose of the first volume was to provide practical information in sufficient detail to permit the researcher to undertake the actual sequencing procedures in his own laboratory."

In the few years since the first edition of this book made its appearance, under takings in the area of protein sequence determination have increased at an almost logarithmic pace. The logic governing such efforts has, predictably, retreated from a simple sense of curiosity in achieving something that had not previously been done, to be replaced by an absolute requirement for sequence information as the best means for understanding heretofore unattainable aspects of chemical, and structural and functional mechanistic phenomena. Witness, for example, recent volumes of the Annual Review of Biochemistry and other review journals, which treat the genetic control of mitochondrial proteins, mechanisms of enzyme action, the immunochemistry of collagen, and the role of lysosomal enzymes in the lipid storage diseases - all on the basis of known protein sequence information. One must note, too, the appearance of related works in the area of nucleic acid sequencing. The technologic advances in chemical sequencing procedures have proliferated at a remarkable rate. It is in the area of instrumentation, however, that the greatest advances have taken place. As a consequence of this, each chapter (with one single exception) in this book has been extensively revised and updated. Entire chapters have been replaced in several cases, without minimizing the value of their original content. In addition, a second volume will appear soon, dealing with subjects not covered in the present book."

Three events greatly influenced the course of human history - the creation of a faith centered on One God, the emergence from the Dark Ages into a renaissance of enlightenment in the 16th century, and the religious wars in which almost half the population of Europe died 100 years later. These shared a common denominator: that God attended the constant appeals for protection and solace, in their lives, by royalty and citizens of the time. The appreciation of this faith was the use of the Name of God, in Hebrew, considered the language of God, on coins and medals of the middle ages.