I am indebted to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence program at Baruch College, and Ledig House for giving me money and time while I was writing this book, and to Denis Frawley and Jon Novick for giving me space; to Semi Chellas, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Pete Wells for tirelessly reading, rereading, and responding to drafts of the manuscript; to William Finnegan, Tom McDaniel, Mark Rossini, Kevin Sack, and Julie Tate for invaluable information; and to Lynn Nesbit, Molly Stern, and Laura Tisdel for their endless assistance and unflagging enthusiasm. Thank you all.