I am deeply grateful to all of the many people who provided the help, advice, encouragement, inspiration, and information without whom this book would not have been possible.
Special thanks go to Deb Burns, my kind and patient editor, and the wonderful staff at Storey Publishing; to Pat Stone and colleagues at GreenPrints magazine, who so beautifully combine digging and literature; to Ethan Rupp, who so generously, competently, and continually fixed my computer; and to the helpful and sympathetic librarians at the Bennington Free Library in Bennington, Vermont, the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont, and the Bailey/Howe Library at the University of Vermont.