David J. Garrow - Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama

More than twenty years ago, in the acknowledgments for Liberty and Sexuality, I wrote that books like that, and this, fundamentally depend on the kindness of strangers. Many of the more than one thousand people who took the time to speak with me for Rising Star are no longer strangers, and a number of the most important and most helpful have become personal friends, yet there is no gainsaying how a book as long and detailed as this one comes into existence only because of the assistance of hundreds and hundreds of peopleinterviewees, research assistants, and especially librarians and archivists worldwide.

Unlike some authors, I do one hundred percent of my own interviewing, reading, and note taking, and I will not repeat here the names of everyone listed in the bibliography who was kind enough to speak with me, whether in person, by telephone, or by e-mail. Early on in this nine-year project, thanks to Chris Stansell and Jane Dailey, Alix Lerner became my first Chicago-based research assistant, contributing invaluablynever more so than when she perused the old phone directories sitting on the shelves of Regenstein Library. When Alix left Hyde Park to begin graduate study at Princeton, Chris thankfully introduced me to U of C Ph.D. candidate Ali Lefkovitz, now an assistant professor of history at Rutgers UniversityNewark, who suffered through hours and hours of microfilm review in obscure libraries but who also accompanied me on an utterly unforgettable interviewing trip southward from Cook County.

Thanks again to Jane, after Ali completed her doctorate, U of C Ph.D. candidate Sarah Miller-Davenport stepped in in Alis stead, and after Sarah accepted a lectureship at the University of Sheffield, my dear friend Dennis Hutchinson recruited Italia Pattia 2014 U of C Law School J.D. who is now clerking on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuitto complete my Chicago research work. Very early on, Mike Klarman kindly lent me his Harvard Law School research assistant, Jenn Schultz (now a senior associate at Goodwin Procter LLP), for Harvard library work, and some years later wonderful Beryl Satter recruited Christopher Witrak to do some very savvy library work for me in New York City. Very late in the game, superb Steve Smith from Montreal performed yeoman picture-taking in central Harlem.

Many journalists, writers, and scholars whose earlier works have touched on one or another part of this huge story shared information and advice. Liza Mundy, Janny Scott, and Sally Jacobs top this list, but it is long indeed: Jim Kloppenberg, Rachel Swarns, Jim Meriwether, Tom Shachtman, Tenisha Armstrong, Edgar Tidwell, Phil Dougherty, Verica Jokic, John Conroy, Nancy Hewitt, Alan Brinkley, Dick Powers, Evan Gahr, Jim Sleeper, Nan Rubin, Al Brophy, Scott Helman, Larry Gordon, Serge Kovaleski, Bob Secter, Hank DeZutter, David Moberg, Ted McClelland, Eleanor Kerlow, Kurt Andersen, Randy Kryn, Becca Williams, Mark Johnson, Nancy Benac, Peter Wallsten, Lawrence Hurley, Will Saletan, Jacob Weisberg, David Shribman, Ken Gormley, Mike Leahy, Stanley Kurtz, and Jerome Corsi. Jamie Weinstein shared with me some invaluable files, and Robert Draper kindly gave me his notes from some pioneering, early interviews.

From Amsterdam, Arlette Strijland at Atria sent me copies of Ann Dunhams unpublished writings; in Hawaii, Carlyn Tani and Kylee Mar at Punahou were especially helpful, as were Bron Solyom and Ellen Chapman at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Ian Mattoch, Emme Tomimbang, Joanne Corpuz, Andrew Walden, and multiple staff members at the Hawaii State Library all aided me too as did Mark Davis and Fred Whitehead. Susan Corley, Alec Williamson, Tom Topolinski, Mark Hebing, Keith Peterson, and Pete Vayda all provided instructive items, and archivists at a trio of institutionsNicole Dittrich and Nicolette Dobrowski at Syracuse University; Peter Berg and Peter Limb at Michigan State University; and Steven Fullwood, Mary Yearwood, and Chris McKay at the Schomburg Centerall helped provide invaluable documents concerning Barack H. Obama Sr.

Of all the people who devoted scores of hours to aiding and coaching me on this huge project, none revealed a more pure spirit than the late Zeituni Onyango Obama, who welcomed me to her modest Boston abode and then patiently showered me with scores of e-mails, explaining the intricacies of her familys history in Kenya and beyond, prior to her untimely passing in April 2014 at age sixty-one. I recall her voice fondly, and with tears.

In Eagle Rock, the kindness of Jean Paule and the efforts of Jim Jacobs were especially helpful, as were the contributions of Dale Stieber, Vanessa Zendejas, Debra Plummer, and Kyle Herrara. Adam Sherman, Susan Keselenko Coll, and John Drew all shared items from long ago, but my greatest Occidental debts without question are owed to Margot Mifflin and Phil Boerner, both of whom time and again shared with me memories and reached out to others on my behalf, easing my path with people who had learned all too well that many callers came with hidden agendas either political or pecuniary.

Beginning in May 2010, Alex McNear extended to me her trust, welcoming me into her home and sharing with me almost in full the letters she had retained from 1982 to 1984. In September 2012, Genevieve Cook (whose present-day surname is omitted from this book) similarly entrusted me, hosting me and my spouse at her and her partners home, and then sharing in toto the letters she had retained from 1985 to 1986. Andy Roth and Keith Patchel were invaluably helpful, as were Jeremy Feinberg and Greg Poe. Jocelyn Wilks and Tara Craig at Columbia University, Sydney Van Nort and Samuel Sanchez at City College, and Derick and Jeremy Schilling all aided my research as well. If there was a gold medal for reference librarians, it would go to Theresa McDevitt at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, who found the rarest thing of all, and Glee Murray then unearthed similar items.

In Chicago, my innumerable debts stretch literally from Altgeld Gardens and Hegewisch to the Evanston border. Greg Galluzzo, Mike Kruglik, Jerry Kellman, Paul Scully, and especially Ken Rolling all willingly gave me hours of their time on multiple occasions, and no single comment has more enriched this book than Gregs recommendation that I contact Mary-Ann Wilson, whose file folder from 1986 to 1987 introduced me to a new world of wonderful people. Roberta Lynch, Dick Poethig, Robin Rich, Adrienne Jackson, Eva Sturgies, Rick Williams, David Kindler, Ed Grossman, Joan Keleher, and Gabriela Franco at St. Victor Parish all unearthed items from years past. Jeremiah Wright, Mike Pfleger, and terrific Hermene Hartman all kindly vouched for me to parishioners and colleagues, and when Jeremiah first referred to me as Brother Garrow, I knew once again who was still blessing me. Ivey Matute-Brooks and Charles Lofton likewise helped me, as did Anita Beard, Gregory Callaway, Pandwe Gibson, Lisette Spraggins, Mary Pat White, Father Robert Cooper, Rachel Mikva, Dorothy Shipps, Niaz Dorry, Charlie Cray, Ben Gordon, and Robert T. Gannett. Glenn Humphreys and especially Teresa Yoder were wise guides at the Harold Washington Library, as were Michael Flug and Beverly Cook at the Harsh Collection on 95th Street. Valerie Harris does a superb job at the University of Illinois at Chicago, as did Debbie Vaughan at the Chicago Historical Museum. May the ghost of Archie Motley take revenge. Tom Joyce and Malachy McCarthy showed me the riches at the Claretian Missionaries Archives, as did Rod Sellers at the Southeast Side Historical Society, and a very special thank you goes out to now-Justice Mary Yu. Kathryn DeGraff and Kelly Gosa aided me at DePaul University, as did Harry Miller at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin; Ashley Howdeshell at Loyola University Chicago; Nicole Gotthelf at the Center for Neighborhood Technology; Lisa Jacobson, David Koch, and Quincina Jackson at the Presbyterian Historical Society; Nancy Carroll at Wartburg Theological Seminary; Julie Satzik and Jac Treanor at the Archdiocese of Chicago; and Wm. Kevin Cawley at the University of Notre Dame. Regina McGraw and Carmen Prieto valuably helped me at the Wieboldt Foundation, as did Deborah Harrington at the Woods Funds, Barbara Denemark Long at the Chicago Community Trust, Richard Kaplan at the MacArthur Foundation, and Katherine Litwin at the Donors Forum. It is unfortunate how the present-day Joyce Foundation stands apart from the helpful traditions of Chicagos philanthropic community.