So many people have contributed to DNA USA, but let me start by thanking all the volunteers who either allowed me to sample their DNA or shared with me the results of earlier genetic analyses. Without their help there would simply have been nothing to write about. They are, in no particular order, Meriwether Schmid, Christopher Childs, Brenton Simons, Richard Ferguson, Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., Dr. Gretchen Holbrook Gertzina, Polly Furbush, Dr. Esteban Burchard, Dr. Roy King, Dr. Rick Kittles, Gina Paige, David Dearborn, Bonnie Healy, Dr. Nanibaa’ Garrison, Dr. Justin Barrett, Barbara Poole, Charlie Coleman, Doug Chase, Aaron Gray, Margaretta Barley, Lynda Duncan, Latonya Raston, Justin Connors, Rev. Mark Thompson, Toby Cooper, Brinson Weeks, Sandi Hewlett, Dr. Jay Lewis, and Lee Huntley.
Many people helped by giving up their valuable time to meet or talk with me, including Bennett Greenspan of Family Tree DNA, Dr. Rick Kittles and Gina Paige from African Ancestry, and Dr. Scott Woodward from the Sorenson Institute. I also enjoyed and benefited from conversations with Dr. Kimberly TallBear from the University of California, Berkeley; Dr. Gabrielle Tayac of the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington D.C.; Dr. Mike Hammer from the University of Arizona, Tucson; Anna Silas from the Hopi Cultural Center, Second Mesa, Arizona; Michael Markley, tribal historian of the Seaconke Wampanoag; Juan Luis Castro Suarez, lexicographer and restaurateur; and Serle Chapman, our guide in Wyoming, who provided a wise introduction to the Cheyenne.
I am very grateful for the enthusiastic help with the genome analyses and chromosome painting from 23andMe, Inc. in Mountain View, California—in particular, Dr. Joanna Mountain, Dr. Mike MacPherson, Stewart Ellis, and Linda Avey. Many people made what seemed at first a mammoth task come to completion by their generous welcome and support. I especially want to pay tribute to the New England Historic Genealogy Society, who enthusiastically supported and welcomed me, and my intrepid team of researchers, to their headquarters in Boston. A big thank-you to all the staff at NEHGS and particularly to the president and C.E.O., Brenton Simons; Kelly McCoulf, his tireless PA; and Lynn Betlock, who organized the DNA kits and the recruitment of New England volunteers. Also in Boston, or at least in nearby Cambridge, I owe a great deal to Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the staff at the W.E.B DuBois Institute for African and African American Studies at Harvard for their most generous hospitality.
All that research and travel had to be turned into a book, and for that I am very grateful to Robin Roberts-Gant and Gerry Black for their invaluable and skillful assistance with the book illustrations. The travel plans were also sometimes complicated, so I owe a lot to Debs Hull of Oxonian Travel, for smoothing the way, and, as so often, to the irreplaceable Hilary Prince and the very talented Mr. Bentley for holding the fort in Oxford while I was in America.
But no book is ever written without encouragement, and for this I must once again thank my literary agent, Luigi Bonomi, and, even more than usual, my editor at W. W. Norton, Bob Weil, whose idea it was in the first place and who, with Philip Marino’s editorial help, Sue Llewellyn’s and Don Rifkin’s copyediting (and translation into American), Chris Carruth’s index, Devon Zahn’s production skills, and Susan Foden’s proofreading, molded my rough and ready manuscript into the finished product.
Lastly, there would simply be no DNA USA without Ulla and Richard, who traveled with me over many thousands of miles by road, rail, and air; helped with the sample collection, voice recordings, note taking, and in so many other ways. With Richard’s sketches and Ulla’s constant encouragement, they made sure the book was finished in style, and on time.