Acknowledgments
Writing is a solitary endeavor that requires one to quietly sit for days (sometimes months) on end, typing at a keyboard, taking notes, or reading piles of source material. Publishing a book, though, requires a team effort and a lot of luck. This book would not exist but for the kindness of friends, the willingness on the part of many (former) strangers to open up their lives to me, and a patient understanding on the part of my family who saw me but rarely, if at all, for long stretches of time. I have many people to thank, and even more to apologize to.
It was the prodding of a dear friend, the financial journalist Caroline Baum, that got me to gather all my notes and pitch my obsession to a publishing house, and it was just my good luck to meet Pamela Van Giessen, the editorial director at John Wiley & Sons, who consented to take a flyer on a new author. I cannot thank either of them enough.
My editor at John Wiley, Emilie Herman, was a joy to work with and always kept my thoughts marching in a straight line instead of veering off into tangents. Despite my complete lack of mastery of the English language, she never physically threatened me, not once, though I remain murky on a semicolon’s proper usage. Thanks also to Todd Tedesco, my production editor at Wiley.
All the staff at the New York Public Library’s research wings were ever helpful and polite, and I am blessed to live so near such a world-renowned collection of historical documents. My thanks also go to ...
