Acknowledgments

WHILE I CHANGED MANY FACTS CONCERNING THE SECOND Battle of the Champagne in 1915, I tried to remain true to the effects of that bloody battle on those who participated in it. World War I was an amazingly destructive war, with nearly 22,000 people dying every day during its prosecution, and my intent in this novel was to explore the effects of the war on the men in the trenches and not necessarily to present a history of its battles.

This novel could not have been written without the aid of many. Much of the research material that I used is included as chapter epigraphs. Other works include William Wiser’s The Crazy Years, Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August, John Keegan’s The First World War, and G. J. Meyer’s A World Undone.

I am extremely grateful to a number of people who helped in seeing this novel to print, especially my agent, Sarah Warner, and my editor at Arcade, Lilly Golden. Much of what is good on these pages are because of their wonderful advice; all that is not so good is my fault alone. I also wish to thank all at Arcade who assisted in the creation of this book: Sara Kitchen, Catherine Kovach, and Brian Peterson. And I owe a great deal of gratitude to Ron McFarland for his expert eye.

Thanks as always to Sandra Lea and Caitlyn, who provide hope in my life, and to those whose assistance and inspiration has helped in all of my writing: Bub, Joad, Otto, Kenzie, and eddieB.