I want to thank Sentinel Books, starting with its preternaturally smart publisher, Adrian Zackheim, my gifted editor, Niki Papadopoulos, and the talented Natalie Horbachevsky. They are real pros whose contributions to this book have been invaluable.
I am grateful, as always, to my agent, Flip Brophy. I’m lucky to have her and I know it.
Many thanks to Julia Kardon for her meticulous fact checking, and to Nephi Tyler, who did a terrific job as my editorial assistant/researcher, and to my first reader, my son, Coby, who is blessed with great taste and unwavering (sometimes brutal) intellectual honesty.
A lot of people took the time to talk to me for this book. Many are quoted, others have preferred to stay off the record. I appreciate everyone’s help and generosity.
I am indebted to Brian Lewis, Fox News executive vice president for corporate communications, who was always willing to answer just one more question; and to Ailes’s assistants, Gina Dell ’Aquila and Liz Downey, who were consistently cheerful and helpful.
Special thanks goes to Judy Laterza, Roger Ailes’s longtime executive assistant, who handled my many requests with generous efficiency and exceptional kindness.