Andrew Carroll - Here Is Where: Discovering Americas Great Forgotten History

As to that night, I slept in that room in the corner away from the fireplace. One comfort was over me, one comfort and pillow between me and the dark floor. There was every reason to infer that the pillow and comfort came from my [hosts own] bed.

They slept far away, in some mysterious part of the empty house. I hoped they were not cold. I looked into the rejoicing fire. I said: This is what I came out into the wilderness to see. This man had nothing, and gave me half of it, and we both had abundance.

From A Handy Guide for Beggars, Especially Those of the Poetic Fraternity (1919) by Vachel Lindsay

AUTHORS, LIKE TRAVELERS , frequently depend on the kindness of friends and strangers alike, even if their endeavors seem to be mostly solitary affairs. This book, and my trip across America, would not have been possible without the generosity and assistance of a host of extraordinary individuals to whom I am forever grateful.

Beginning, first and foremost, with my editor, Rick Horgan, at Crown Archetype. Rick is a passionate history buff who understood the spirit of this bookand the larger project behind itfrom the very beginning. Rick is every authors dream editor; he is brilliant and a sensational writer himself. This book became more ambitious than either of us had expected, and Rick helped me contain my somewhat peripatetic ramblings while maintaining its free-spirited style. Rick shepherded this book along with infinite patience and offered the necessary words of encouragement when they were needed. I truly cannot thank him enough. Along with Rick, there is Julian Pavia, who did much of the initial editing of the manuscript and saved me from careening too wildly from topic to topic. (I still careened more than Julian would probably have preferred, and Im responsible for these unwieldy parts, but its in my nature to jump from topic to topic.) I also want to thank Nate Roberson, Ricks right-hand man, who endured a barrage of e-mails and questions on a range of matters and deserves a medal for his patience and kindness throughout this whole process. Copy editors are the unsung heroes of the publishing world, and I am grateful for all of the labor Chris Tanigawa has put into fine-tuning the manuscript. On the publicity and marketing side, Ive been especially fortunate to have Catherine Cullen and Christina Foxley help me spread the word about this book. Theyre a joy to work with and a truly dedicated and creative team. I am also deeply indebted to Crown Archetypes phenomenal publisher, Tina Constable, who has been enormously supportive. I cant imagine a more caring or thoughtful publisher.

I wouldnt have found Crown without my agent, Miriam Altshuler, who is not only the best agent but simply the greatest friend that a writer could hope to have. Miriams wisdom, sense of humor, guidance, integrity, and encouragement were indispensable throughout this process, and I never would have made it through in one piece without her. Words cannot express the extent of my gratitude and admiration for her. I am also indebted to her assistants Emily Koyfman, Sara McGhee, Cathy Schmitz, and especially Reiko Davis, who has helped me lurch (reluctantly) into the twenty-first century and set up a Facebook page and other social media.

And speaking of newfangled technology (at least it is to me), Im extremely grateful to my gifted Web designer, Tim Kopp, for setting up www.HereIsWhere.org.

Along with my parents, who have been incredible throughout this whole project, there are numerous family members and friends to whom I am extremely grateful for their words of support and, in many cases, their ideas for stories: Allison Agnew, Ted Alexander, Sharon Allen, Chris Aprato, Meredith and Monica Ashley, Scott Baron, Chris and Janet Beach, Kate Becker and Darell Hammond, Peter Benkendorf, Rob Berkley and Debbie Phillips, Bob Bergman, Margaret Bernal, Cliff and Anna Blaze, Ursula Bosch and Gerard Petersen, Todd Boss, Doug Bradshaw, Chad Breckinridge and Joy Drachman, Lawrence Bridges, Doug Brinkley, Chris Buckley, Jon Burrows, Allen Caruselle, Chris and Elizabeth Mechem Carroll, Lucinda and Sophia Carroll, Lisa Catapano and Bill Thomas, Ross Cohen, John Cole, Craig Colton, Alison Hall Cooley and Benjamin Simons, Frank Correa, Allan Cors, Dan Dalager, Dave Danzig, Richard Danzig, Connie and Tom Davidson Sr., Elissa and Tommy Davidson, Chris Davies and Stephanie Martz, Frank Davies, Riki Dolph, James Dourgarian, Ashley and Jono Drysdale, Chris Dunham, Tom Dunkel, Deanna Durrett, Chris Epting, Dave Felsen, Katia and Mike Fischer, Ken Fisher and Amanda Godley, Skyla M. Freeman, Dave Gabel, Joan Gillcrist and Will Strong, Larry D. Goins, Bill and Karen Graser, Dave and Debbie Grossberg, Erin Gruwell, Parker Gyokeres, Joyce A. Hallenbeck, John and Meredith Hanamiriam, Tom Hare and Liz McDermott, Mim Harrison, Mike Healy, August Hohl, Cory-Jeanne Houck-Cox, Linda Howell, Nick Irons, Kelly Johnson, Greg Jones, Steve Karras, Ryan Kelly, David Kennedy, Austin Kiplinger, Andrew Kirk, Yumi Kobayashi and Peter Sluszka, Mia Kogan, Chrissy Kolaya and Brook Miller, Jerome Kramer, Zoltan Krompecher, Gene and Joanna Kukuy, Henry Labalme, Greg and Maureen Lare, Simone Ledeen, Steve and Lori Leveen, Heather and Tom Leitzell, Jack Lewis, James Loewen, Jim and Kathy Lowy, John Madden, Peter Marks, John McCary, Pam McDonough, Mike McNulty, Jimmie Meinhardt, James and Meribeth McGinley, Sylvia Medley, Ann Medlock, Doug Meehan and Caroline Suh, Justin Merhoff, Brad and Cori Flam Meltzer, Mike Meyer, John Meyers, Jay Michael, Nathan Mick, Allen Mikaelian, Deon Miller, Marja Mills, Felicia Norton, K.K. Ottesen and Matthew Wheelock, Jon Peede, David Pelizzari, James Percoco, Elise and Tripp Piper, Alice Powers, Gary Powers Jr., Pam Putney, Cheryl Richardson, Joe Rubinfine, Cathy Saypol, Jeff Shaara, Thad and Gabby Sheeley, Katie Silberman, Denis Silva, Albert Small, Lucy Roberts Smiles, Charles Smith, Kelsey Smith, Kerner Smith Jr., Kerner Smith III, Maggie Smith, Patty Smith, Adrian Snead, Steve Stevenson, Sean Sweeney, Adrian and Sandra Talbott, Chris and Becca Tessin, Chuck Theusch, Anne Tramer, Kyriakos Tsakopoulos, Erika Tullberg, Meg Tulloch, Todd Vorenkamp, Jamie Wager, Stephen Webber, Megan Willems, Don Wilson, Rob Wilson, Ellen Wingard, Martin Vigderhouse, Thomas Young, and Lydia Zamora.

Sadly, two of my closest friends lost their moms while I was working on this book. Brook Millers mother, Helen, and Adrian Talbotts mother, Brooke Shearer, were extremely kind in sharing with me suggestions of little-known places I should seek out. Helen was the one who told me about Charles Lindberghs grave in Hawaii, and Brooke pointed me to several spots around our hometown of D.C. They were both extraordinary women and are deeply missed.

I want to extend a special thanks to John Elko, not only for being such an influential teacher but also for connecting me with several of his students who proved to be outstanding assistants: Antonia Hitchens, Dimitry Kislovskiy, and Massimo Young. Similarly, I want to thank my good friend Joel Swerdlow for enlisting Ben Oreskesa terrific researcherin this endeavor. Im indebted as well to Elizabeth Velez, both for her support and for putting me in touch with her son, Nick, whos been a lifesaver on a variety of projects.

At Keener Management, Im indebted to David Beasley, Okey Mbarah, Alison Sowers, and Gabrielle Weiss. And at the Weider History Group, I want to thank Aleta Burchyski, David Grogan, and Karen Jensen.

Id also like to thank Dear Abby, who, in 1998, helped me launch the Legacy Project (a national effort to preserve American war letters), and, ultimately, further deepened my love for history. The Legacy Projects letters are being donated to Chapman University and will become the foundation of the newly created Center for American War Letters. At Chapman I am grateful to Dennis Arp, Charlene Baldwin, Richard Bausch, John Benitz (a phenomenal director and now dear friend who first introduced me to the Chapman community), Larry and Sheryl Bourgeois, William Cumiford, Erika Curiel, Doug Dechow, Jim Doti, Patrick Fuery, Ryan Gattis, Marilyn Harran, Jennifer Keene, Anna Leahy, Nina Lenoir, Jan Osborn, Ronald and Kyndra Rotunda, Bob Slayton, Daniele Struppa, Yolanda Uzzell, Char Williams, and the casts of