Meribah Knight was with this book from the beginning, tracking down documents, sussing out stories, knocking on doors, reading draft after draft. A remarkable journalist in her own right, her insights helped shape this book. When she took a job at Nashville Public Radio, Kalyn Belsha stepped in to assist with both research and fact checking which she did with such thoroughness and diligence. Any mistakes in this book are my own. To Zoraida Castilblanco for transcribing hours upon hours of interviews.
I can’t thank enough my friends Kevin Horan, Melissa Fay Greene, Julie Snyder, and Vera Titunik, all of whom read partial or full drafts of the book. They sharpened my prose and my storytelling, and gently nudged me along. And to my friend Doug Foster who early on patiently helped me figure out the book’s structure.
A few of the stories sprang from seeds planted while reporting for This American Life, WBEZ, and for the documentary The Interrupters. And so thanks, respectively, to Ira Glass, Ben Calhoun, Linda Lutton, Robyn Semien, and (again) Julie Snyder; to Amy Drozdowska and Cate Cahan; and to Steve James and Zak Piper. Thanks to John Freeman who invited me to write about the city’s violence for Granta.
Many friends kept me company along the way and kept my head above water. Chris Ware, Joe Margulies, and Jeff Bailey for the regular conversations. And to Liz Taylor, Carlos Javier Ortiz, Julie Justicz, Mary Rowland, Reg Gibbons, Ben Calhoun, John Corbett, John Murphy, Nancy Horan, John Houston, James Adler, and my brother, Dan Kotlowitz. I’m indebted to the support of my colleagues at Northwestern University, which has been my home for the past twenty years. Dave Sanders for his invaluable legal guidance. And a thanks to Hannah Scott and Miriam Feuerle of the Lyceum Agency for helping make the writing life possible.
A shout-out to reporters Linda Lutton and Natalie Moore, who each generously provided me with raw audio tape of two events in this book. And to the photographer Andrew Nelles who provided video.
For thirty years, David Black, agent extraordinaire, has had my back. Always. I don’t know where I’d be without his friendship and his steady encouragement. Nan Talese: What can I say? This is the third book we’ve done together, and her guidance, her friendship, her editorial wisdom have made me a better writer. Nan and David, you’ve always had faith. Even when I didn’t. And to the brilliant Doubleday team—Carolyn Williams, Dan Meyer, Emily Mahon, Daniel Novack, Bette Alexander—a big thank you.
Finally, my family. They’re my ballast. Over the course of one summer, Lucas sat with me in the mornings as I read him an early draft of the book. His wise insights and his enthusiasm for what he heard kept me going. I treasured those mornings together. To Mattie who never stopped asking questions and who kept me smiling. And to my beloved wife, Maria, who never stopped believing and who kept me upright (and who tried, in vain, to bring order to my office). Her presence in my life has been a gift. Her work with immigrant children is heroic. This book is for her.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Kotlowitz is the author of three previous books, including the national bestseller There Are No Children Here, selected by the New York Public Library as one of the 150 most important books of the twentieth century. The Other Side of the River was awarded the Chicago Tribune’s Heartland Prize for Nonfiction. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine and on This American Life. His documentary work includes The Interrupters, for which he received a Film Independent Spirit Award and an Emmy. His other honors include a George Polk Award, two Peabodys, the Helen B. Bernstein Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. He teaches at Northwestern University.
What’s next on
your reading list?
Discover your next
great read!
Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.
Sign up now.
An American Summer Page 29
