America the Ingenious was a project written in near-record time, which would not have been possible without my wife and researcher, Ellen Abrams. El did amazing work in digging out all sorts of information about everything, even as the subjects and the focus of the book changed in the writing of it. She was tireless, uncomplaining, a constant source of encouragement . . . and my IT team, to boot. She has, as usual, all my love and thanks.
The idea for America the Ingenious was conceived by my publisher at Artisan, Lia Ronnen, who was just a delight to work with. My editor, Shoshana Gutmajer, was absolutely the best: unstintingly generous in her praise, her patience, and her insights. She was rigorous and perceptive, without ever losing her good temper and great sense of humor. Mura Dominko, assistant editor on the book, was also a joy to work with, smart and diligent, and always ready to jump into the breach. The rest of the Artisan team, including Zach Greenwald, Elise Nelson, Michelle Ishay-Cohen, Renata Di Biase, Allison McGeehon, Theresa Collier, and Nancy Murray, were all terrific and made a challenging project great good fun. They were meticulous in their work and their professionalism.
I would also like to thank my agent, Henry Dunow, for all his good work and my esteemed colleagues Jack Hitt, Daniel Okrent, Sam Roberts, and Brenda Wineapple for their generous praise. I am, as always, grateful for all the terrific people I am lucky to have in my life—my friends and family—and also for that tuxedoed, superhuman creature, our cat, Maisie.