The contributors to this volume—Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon, Howard Bryant, Randal Maurice Jelks, George Vecsey, Jonathan Eig, Mark Kurlansky, Chris Lamb, David Naze, Sridhar Pappu, Gerald Early, Yohuru Williams, Peter Dreier, Amira Rose Davis, Adam Amel Rogers, and Kevin Merida—deserve the deepest gratitude I can offer. They are all top-rated professionals with extraordinary demands on their busy schedules, and their willingness to make the time and expend the energy to contribute to this book testifies to their high esteem for Jackie Robinson. I could not be more pleased than I am to be part of this team.
I’ve dedicated our book to Rachel Robinson. Although she has not played a direct role in its writing or production, this book is possible only because of the remarkable generosity that she has shown in sharing her husband with us through the years. Jackie recognized that his legacy and Rachel’s were inextricable, and those of us who study the Robinsons know that nothing about them could be truer. My hope is that a biography of Rachel will soon appear and that it will include a significant section on the legacy she has created through the Jackie Robinson Foundation and the Jackie Robinson Museum.
My gratitude also extends to the following individuals and institutions: my dear friend Sharon Herr, a grammarian with the eyes of an eagle; the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library and Museum; the Jackie Robinson Foundation; the Manuscripts Division of the Library of Congress; New York University Press, especially editor Eric Zinner and editorial assistant Dolma Ombadykow; Lisha Nadkarni, formerly of New York University Press; and my wonderful family, Jackson, Nathaniel, and Karin.
And, of course, hats off to number 42—Jackie Robinson.