ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many of the people I met in the course of my rambles through Southeast Asia are included in this narrative; their contributions are obvious, but other valuable people and institutions are not mentioned and I would be remiss if I did not cite their assistance.

First and foremost, I owe my wife, Maria, and my young son, Timothy, a debt that can never be paid off in rubies, jade, or even shiitake mushrooms. They allowed me the countless hours away from home that were required to complete this project. My gratitude also goes out to my parents, Gerald and Nancy Cox, my mother-in-law, Doracy Bahia Cahill, and her niece, Maria Norman Velasquez, who all picked up my domestic slack as deadlines loomed.

Although their assistance is apparent throughout this book, I must convey my deep thanks to Barry Flynn and Jay F. Sullivan. It would have been impossible to enter Ho Mong without Flynn’s help; that he got us in and out of Shan State safely is to his everlasting credit. Sullivan’s optimism kept me going on the numerous occasions when it seemed I would never get beyond the “border problems.” Selfless, experienced, cool headed, Jay was a terrific traveling companion. I am lucky to count him as a friend.

Kevin R. Convey, the Boston Herald’s managing editor for features, shaped and edited this material into its original newspaper form and vetted early chapters of my manuscript. Publisher Patrick J. Purcell, editor Andrew F. Costello, Jr., and his predecessor, Kenneth A. Chandler, planted the seed for this project by sending me on assignment to Southeast Asia on two different occasions, a major commitment for a tabloid newspaper whose mission has always been local news.

The Herald’s information technology genius, Emmanuel “Manny” Korkodilos, worked Macintosh magic throughout this project, while national/foreign editor Christy George kept me abreast of wire-service reports related to the Far East. Herald reporters were never less than encouraging about my outside work, but special mention must be made of my overworked features coworkers, past and present—Dana Bisbee, Matthew Diebel, Jane Dornbusch, M. A. J. McKenna, Jill Radsken, Eleanor Roberts, Stephanie Schorow, Beth Teitell, Linda Tischler, and Sonia Turek.

This trip might never have become a book had Douglas Preston, an author whose talent is exceeded only by his generosity to near strangers, not introduced me to his agent, Thomas Wallace, who was willing to take a chance on an unknown writer with a half-formed plan. I also owe an enormous debt to Marian Wood, my editor at Henry Holt, for her gimlet-eyed work on this project. As a first-time author, I am extremely fortunate to have someone of her caliber and experience.

Two travel agents, Nancy Storer of American Express Travel in Boston and Kate Maxwell of Absolute Asia in New York, took it as personal challenges to book me on obscure planes, trains, and steamers throughout the Far East. Avenue Victor Hugo Book Store, the Boston Public Library, the Bostonian Society, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the Widener Library at Harvard University were invaluable scholarly resources.

At the United States State Department, Thailand and Burma Affairs desk officers John Lyle and David Young generously provided information, as did Lynne G. Platt, Olga McGrath, and Lynette Williams of the Bureau of International Narcotics Matters. So, too, did William Hass of the United Nations International Drugs Control Program in New York. I must also acknowledge the assistance of several Drug Enforcement Administration officials: in Boston, Michael A. Cuniff, Michelle Dello Iacono, and Jack Kelly; in Houston, Robert Paez; in New York, Nicholas J. Caruso and John M. Tully; in Washington, Donald Joseph and William Ruzzamenti.

I am grateful for the advice of retired United States Army Major Mark Smith, an old Bangkok hand, as well as the assistance of Rotjana Phraesrithong of the Duang Prateep Foundation, who kindly helped me negotiate the mazes of Klong Toey. Professor Mya Maung of Boston College, Simon Billenness of the Massachusetts Burma Roundtable, Kevin Heppner of the Karen Human Rights Group, and Harn Yaunghwe, the publisher of Burma Alert, provided information and answers to my many arcane questions about Burmese and Shan matters. Harvard graduate student Linda Yueh took time out of her hectic schedule to fill me in on Chinese symbolism.

Finally, I would like to express my thanks to the men and women of Burma who, at great personal risk, allowed me a glimpse behind the lacquer curtain. Their names will stay with me, close to my memories of their tragic, golden land.