Alexandra M. Nickliss - Phoebe Apperson Hearst: A Life of Power and Politics

This book was a labor of love. I started research on Phoebe Apperson Hearst before biographies became fashionable again. Little did I know that the book would be completed while the genre of biography rose in popularity, and that it would take over a quarter of a century to finish. There is much to think about and make sense of while researching and writing about someone whose life interacts so powerfully with a particular historical period. There are thrills to be gained in unraveling the mysteries of a subjects life across time. The discovery of even the smallest detail, along with random elements that form broader patterns, makes working on a book exciting and leads to new ideas and interpretations. (For more on the rise of biographies, see Jo Burr Margadants The New Biography and the American Historical Reviews roundtable on historians and biography in the June 2009 issue).

Researching and publishing a biography present a myriad of challenges. Overcoming them is made easier because turning a dissertation into a manuscript worthy of publication is a collaborative effort. Billie Jean Jensen taught me the craft of history many years ago and inspired me to study the history of women in the United States and to enter a doctoral program. Lack of finances and other life circumstances presented obstacles to getting the graduate degree and, ultimately, forced me to leave the program. I returned to the University of California at Davis to complete the dissertation after working for a few years at City College of San Francisco. I finished my dissertation while working full-time, teaching five classes a semester, sometimes six. Thanks to Ruth Rosen for reading my dissertation and raising questions. Roland Marchand, a wonderful scholar and teacher, now deceased, gave me invaluable intellectual and practical advice. Thanks also to Michael L. Smith for his comments and criticisms.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to Eileen Boris who generously provided essential information and support that helped guide me through the labyrinth of steps to get this book published. Many thanks to Estelle B. Freedman, Charles Grench, Karen Halttunnen, Al Hurtado, Karen Lystra, Peggy Pascoe, now-deceased Sandra Schackel, Nancy J. Taniguichi, and Virginia Scharff for offering advice and counsel about the academy and to Mary P. Ryan and Kathryn Sklar for teaching me valuable lessons about protecting my work and how to navigate entrance into, and advancement through, the academy.

Colleagues, friends, and the Pacific Historical Review and University of Nebraska Press reviewers helped improve the manuscript in many ways. I am deeply indebted to Anne M. Boylan for her assistance and support. She took time out of her busy schedule to review my manuscript and gave valuable expertise, insights, comments, and criticisms that clarified the manuscript and helped this historian avoid serious errors. My manuscript benefitted immeasurably from the feedback and suggestions of Blanche Wiesen Cook, Sarah Deutsch, Anne Hyde, Mary Beth Norton, and Jennifer Scanlon. Grey Osterud, Linda Shopes, and Karen Brown gave me expert editorial comments, suggestions, and assistance that taught me how to get the book manuscript ready for publication. Mary Adams, Jane Bernard-Powers, Sue Bowie, Geraldine Jonich Clifford, Cita Cook, Ruth Crocker, Allen F. Davis, Rochelle Gatlin, Gayle Gullett, Nancy Hewitt, Timothy Killikelley, Gloria Ricci Lothrop, Valerie Mathes, Laurie Wu McClain and Charles McClain, Richard Orsi, Glenda Riley, Lois Scharf, Sandra Schlesinger, Jan Shipps, Deanne Spears, Carol Srole, Joan Wilson, Shirley Yee, and members of the Stanford Biographers Seminar provided valuable suggestions and critiques on drafts of the dissertation and book manuscript. Jacqueline Braitmans comments improved a draft of a published journal article.