I wrote this book while traveling around the world on a “family gap year” with my wife, Leah, and our three children. Leah is a remarkable partner in all that I do. She had the imagination and energy to make that family trip happen. She was the first person to read an early draft of this book—before there was even an ending. Her encouragement inspired me to keep going. Our children—Katrina, Sophia, and CJ—were fun and adventurous travel companions. If I am being honest, however, their primary contributions to this book were fits of teenage behavior that drove me to cafés and other isolated places where I was able to get a lot of writing done.
I showed up in New York at the end of our family gap year and informed my agent, Tina Bennett, that I had written a novel. (At least I did not present her with poetry or watercolor paintings.) She was remarkably supportive; as a result, we now have a book. Tina and I have brought a diverse array of projects to fruition. It has been a privilege to have her at my side along the way. And thankfully, Svetlana Katz has been at Tina’s side to round out a great team.
My day job is teaching public policy at the Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College. (Anyone who did not see a lot of public policy themes in this book did not look hard enough.) Andrew Samwick is the one who brought me to the Rockefeller Center. He has encouraged my eclectic projects at every turn. He also made possible our year of traveling, which in turn made possible The Rationing. It is a joy and a privilege to be a part of the Rockefeller Center and to teach Dartmouth undergraduates.
I want to thank Joyce Gerstein, a family friend since I was in high school. For as long as I can remember, Joyce has worked at the Book Bin, an independent bookstore in Northbrook, Illinois, where I grew up. When my mother gave Joyce the manuscript, Joyce read it promptly and pronounced that it was a book she could sell. That was high praise coming from someone who loves books as much as she does; it also motivated me to move the project forward.
Thanks also to my mother, who gave the manuscript to Joyce without my permission. That’s exactly the kind of thing mothers are supposed to do.
ALSO BY
CHARLES WHEELAN
Naked Money: A Revealing Look at Our Financial System
Naked Statistics: Stripping the Dread from the Data
The Centrist Manifesto
10½ Things No Commencement Speaker Has Ever Said
Revealing Chicago: An Aerial Portrait (with Terry Evans)
Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science
Copyright © 2019 by Charles Wheelan
All rights reserved
First Edition
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Names: Wheelan, Charles J., author.
Title: The rationing : a novel / Charles Wheelan.
Description: First edition. | New York : W. W. Norton & Company, [2019]
Identifiers: LCCN 2018054654 | ISBN 9781324001485 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Political fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3623.H429 R38 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018054654
ISBN 9781324001492 (eBook)
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