The print version of this book is six years in the making, and they have been a very memorable, exciting, and painful six years. If I were to list all the people to whom I’m grateful, you’d have another book, so apologies in advance to those who I omit.
First I’d like to thank my editor at Al Jazeera English, Naz Khan, who took a chance on me when I was a PhD student, let me speak my mind unimpeded on controversial topics, and was a great source of support over our years working together. Similar thanks to my literary agent, Robert Lecker, who sought me out before my work achieved mass popularity, and proved a steadfast advisor throughout this process. Thanks also to the team at Macmillan, including: Whitney Frick, the former executive editor at Macmillan who first introduced this project to Flatiron Books; Bryn Clark, the associate editor who brought the print version to fruition; my Flatiron publicist, Amelia Possanza; and the rest of the production team at Macmillan.
Thanks to everyone who has worked as my editor in the years after I left Al Jazeera, especially Amberly McTeer at The Globe and Mail; Meredith Bennet-Smith at Quartz and NBC News; Anjali Khosla at Fast Company; and Erica Moore at De Correspondent. You all helped make me a stronger writer. Thanks also to Joy-Ann Reid at MSNBC for giving me a platform to discuss the Trump regime and other social ills on television.
You may notice that I am largely thanking women in this section. To a large degree, it has been women who supported my writing and who did not dismiss my concerns about our country’s future as hyperbole or hysteria. We need more women in editorial positions and more female writers covering issues like politics, technology, and the economy. We need more women in positions of power in general. I hope I will have many more women to thank in the years to come.
Like most people, I have a love/hate relationship with Twitter, but I am very grateful for the friends I have made there over the years. I’m particularly grateful to Linda Tirado, Leah McElrath, Sydette Harry, Andrea Chalupa, Imani Gandy, Melissa McEwan, and Mikki Kendall for half a decade of feedback, support, and survival tips. I’d also like to thank my friends in St. Louis, particularly those involved in the Ferguson protest movement who stayed in the region and continue to work for change against long odds, and especially my friend and occasional cowriter Umar Lee.
My deepest thanks to my readership, who have stuck with me through tumultuous times. I’m very lucky to have an audience as engaged and informative as you, and I appreciate all the emails, letters, and tweets over the years. I hope you are as pleased with this updated version as I am.
Most of all, I’d like to thank my family. In memoriam: thank you Emily and Leo Kendzior and Hope and Sherman Tonkonow for your love, advice, and making me the person I am; I miss you. Thanks also to my parents, Barbara and Larry; my in-laws Sally, Phil, Liz, and Dave; my sister, Lizzie, and her husband, Mike; and my nieces and nephews Jack, Kate, Karl, and Julia. A huge debt of gratitude for my extremely patient husband, Pete, who has put up with me throughout this wild ride.
But above all, thanks go to my two favorite people, Emily and Alex. I wrote The View from Flyover Country with the aim of exposing problems we all face and contributing to a better world for you and your generation. Hopefully by the time you’re old enough to read my work, it will seem as far-fetched as fiction. I love you.