Kathryn A. Sloan - Death in the City: Suicide and the Social Imaginary in Modern Mexico

First and foremost I toast my partner in life, Jerry McCormick. He helped me stay sane while balancing the pressures of administrative appointments with academic research and writing. He made me coffee and breakfast in the mornings before I disappeared to my library carrel on Saturdays or while I carved out some writing time during the week before university offices opened. Every person should have such a generous partner and friend. Love and admiration also goes to my two adult sons, Ian and Orion. I marvel each day at the lives you lead.

I thank my colleague Elliott West, who generously shared his own research funds so that I could spend a summer in Mexico City to wrap up my archival sleuthing. My appreciation also extends to the deans office of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences for the year of research and writing time they afforded me before I took on the duties of administration in the college. Dean Todd Shields encouraged me to make time for the book as I polished the manuscript and prepared it for publication. Working alongside him and my fellow deansYvette Murphy-Erby, Jeannine Durdik, Steve Beaupre, Simon Chua, and Lisa Summerfordhas been stimulating and rewarding.

The deans office staff, which includes Debbie Powers, Sharon McFarland, and Dawn Fisher, have welcomed me warmly and been the model of professionalism and generosity. The staff of the history departmentJeanne Short, Brenda Foster, and Melinda Adamsmade my initial foray into university administration a positive experience. Their innovation, good cheer, and senses of humor made coming to work each day a joy.

Successful research relies on the numerous archivists and librarians who allow us scholars to do our jobs. I am especially grateful to the staff of the interlibrary loan department at Mullins Library at the University of Arkansas for expediting the borrowing of multiple reels of microfilm and primary sources. Librarians Angela Fritz and Beth Juhl secured me access to important newspaper databases. The professional archivists at the Archivo General de la Nacin, Archivo Histrico de Salubridad y Asistencia, and Fondo Reservado of the Hemeroteca at Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico made this book possible. Even the armed guards who stood a yard from me at Salubridad y Asistencia as I poured through asylum records played a role, as they made me ponder the sensitivity of conducting historical research. Family lineage and reputation still matter in Mexico. Documents in the hands of anyone with nefarious intentions have the potential to provoke scandal.

The consummate professionals at the University of California Press deserve my sincere gratitude. Acquisitions editor Kate Marshall showed enthusiasm for the project early on; Bradley Depew and Jessica Moll stewarded the book to production; and Genevieve Thurston polished the prose with her superb copyediting.

Finally, I extend my good cheer to a close group of friend-colleagues who have shared drinks, meals, conference trips, and snarky repartee. You know who you are! Performing the acts of a historian is blissful enough, but sharing work and play life with stimulating colleagues takes it to the moon.