A pair of magazine assignments helped plant the seeds for this book, and their editors deserve my thanks. Lincoln Caplan, editor of the late, great Legal Affairs, graciously gave me the assignment in India that allowed me to travel to Mumbai for the first time; Siobhan O’Connor of GOOD magazine dispatched me to Orange County, China, where I learned through a fortuitous conversation with my translator that American-style suburban subdivisions had a hundred-year pedigree in Shanghai.
This book would never have been published without the unflagging support of my literary agent, Larry Weissman, who gave it the push it needed to get commissioned in the thick of the Panic of 2008. Larry sagely got the project in front of Brendan Curry, an editor with the right admixture of left brain and right brain for the project and the adventurous spirit to see a “high-wire act,” as he called it, and sign up to act as safety net. In addition to serving as coach and confidant, Brendan has proved an able ringmaster at Norton, getting an excellent team behind the book. I will forever be grateful to him for the book’s title.
My preliminary research was greatly enhanced by professors David Brownlee and Holly Pittman’s commitment to making the resources of the University of Pennsylvania available to the wider community. I can’t thank them enough for giving me access to the university’s excellent libraries by making me a visiting scholar in the Department of the History of Art from 2008 to 2010.
Scores of people in St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Dubai made my month-long research trips to each city both useful and enjoyable. Many of my sources bravely spoke their minds to an American writer despite the potential drawbacks, and all gave me the gift of their time. In particular, the late Erach Viccajee, a nonagenarian Mumbai Parsi raised in Old Shanghai, who continued to e-mail reminiscences of his Shanghai youth even as his terminal illness took its course, embodied the spirit of generosity found in so many sources all over the world. The following individuals deserve thanks: PVG, CC, BM, BK, ZM, DJB, LB, PTB, GG, LM, DF, LPP, SZ, GG, SD, AW, AR, LJ, DYH, PM, ABY, EL, ZR, JB, MG, JC, GY, TJ, AY, RC, PH, LP, MB, ZZ, LN, ZM, BOM, ANL, NF, AB, MG, PM, PK, CL, SD, NR, AW, UDC, GDC, PK, AV, AL, AKRB, DXB, AH, JP, HR, AMS, JS, KL, AA, SB, AF, PB, EK, AA, IU, RH, JP, RW, AS, RM, MR, DK, AI, EH, FE, YE, LED, PM, NB, TC, SG, PN, OR, MT, AV, LK.
In drafting the manuscript, my joint fellowship between the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress in Washington DC and the Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, provided much-needed time and resources—both archival and financial. Dr. James Billington, Dr. Carolyn Brown, Mary Lou Reker, and C. Ford Peatross at the Library of Congress and Dr. Carol Harter at UNLV as well as their staffs have created a wonderful pair of oases for thirsty minds in forbidding environments. My fellow fellows at both institutions were a collection of tremendously talented writers and scholars. In particular, I would like to thank Uwem Akpan, Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, Nicholas Jackson, Toni Baum, Chris Chekuri, and Naomi Wood for their friendship.
Several wise people with expertise in the history and culture of the cities detailed in this book—Christine Evans, Philip Tinari, and Naresh Fernandez—graciously agreed to read relevant sections and offer advice. Elizabeth Blazevich kindly applied her knowledge of the history of architecture and urban planning to the manuscript. This talented quartet has saved me from several cases of generalist’s embarrassment. A trio of gifted readers with a keen sense of history and style—Astra Taylor, Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, and John Swansburg—agreed to read the manuscript as a whole and give feedback. I finally understand that the usual disclaimer “The mistakes that remain are solely my own” is no cliché. Can’t say I wasn’t warned.
Finally, this book is dedicated to my parents who raised me in the largest metropolis in the Western world and took me at an impressionable age to St. Petersburg. Though they couldn’t have known quite what they were setting in motion, I will be forever grateful to them for their love and for presenting me with a world of opportunity.