The tremendous amount of effort and time William J. Gedney has put into his teaching and research often is not readily apparent, except perhaps to his students, with whom he has always shared his knowledge and insight most generously. The influence he has had on both his students and his fellow scholars, and the high regard that they have for him, saw reflection in May of 1980 when the Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies of the University of Michigan sponsored conference on Thai studies in to honor him on the occasion of his retirement from active teaching. More than two dozen scholars, many former students of Professor Gedney, participated actively in the conference, and these presentations form the basis of this collection.