At the outset, I wish to acknowledge my debt to a remarkable circle of biographers and historians whose studies of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, the muckraking journalists, and the Progressive era provided the background I needed to begin thinking about this project.
Dedicated staff members of numerous libraries have provided invaluable help in my search for primary sources and pictures. I particularly want to thank Joshua Caster, Heather Cole, Wallace Finley Dailey, Zachary Downey, Mary Haegert, E. Ray Henderson, Isabel Planton, Jane Westenfeld, and Cherry Williams.
In Massachusetts, I am grateful to the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Houghton Library, Harvard University; the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, Northampton; and the Jones Library at Amherst. In Ohio, the Cincinnati History Library and Archives at the Cincinnati Museum Center, and the William Howard Taft National Historical Site, National Park Service. In Washington, D.C., the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. In Pennsylvania, the Pelletier Library, Allegheny College, Meadville. In New York, the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University. And in Indiana, the Lilly Library at Indiana University, Bloomington.
Each of the past seven summers, I have participated in the intern program at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, working with a truly wonderful group of students, including Alex Burns, Welton Blount, Samuel Jacobs, Arjun Ramamurti, Sam Barr, James McAuley, and Amanda McGowan. For reading all or parts of the manuscript, I wish to thank Lindsay Hosmer Goodwin, John Hill, Beth Laski, and Frank Phillips. I am grateful to Gary Zola for squiring me through Taft’s Cincinnati, and to Paul Grondahl for guiding me through Roosevelt’s Albany.
I am especially indebted to Michelle Krowl and Camille Larson for their phenomenal work in searching through the archives at the Library of Congress, where the treasure trove of primary materials that form the bedrock of this book is housed—letters, diaries, newspaper articles, periodical pieces, memoirs, office files, and pamphlets.
My longtime agent Binky Urban gave her wholehearted support to this project from simply the germ of an idea to its completion. There is no one better.
And I owe more than I can express to Beth Laski, my manager, my publicist, my great friend. It is impossible to imagine my life without her.
There is no way this project would have been completed on time without Nora Titone. She worked with me on Team of Rivals and then went on to write a wonderful book on Edwin and John Wilkes Booth. She returned these last ten months to help in a thousand ways, tying together all the loose ends with an attention to detail that is simply astonishing. With good cheer and endless enthusiasm, she is an absolute joy to work with. She is a true champion.
How lucky I have been that Simon & Schuster has been my publisher for more than a quarter of a century. Even as I list the following names, I feel as if I am listing members of my family: Jonathan Karp, Carolyn Reidy, Richard Rhorer, Jackie Seow, Joy O’Meara, George Turianski, Gina DiMascia, Julia Prosser, Stephen Bedford, W. Anne Jones. For managing the voyage during these last hectic months, I am particularly grateful to Ann Adelman, my incomparable copy editor; to Jonathan Cox, Alice Mayhew’s indefatigable assistant; and to Lisa Healy and Irene Kheradi, who finally brought the book home.
And of course, there is no one like Alice Mayhew, my editor, counselor, and guide, to whom I proudly dedicate this book. She saw the story I wanted to tell from the start, offering critical advice and ideas at every stage. She has been my indispensable partner throughout my writing career. She is a publishing legend. She is my treasured friend.
This book is also dedicated to my research assistant, Linda Vandegrift. We have worked together for nearly thirty years. Every book has benefited greatly from her extraordinary talent, organizational skills, and unfailing good judgment; but from the start, this story engaged her heart and mind more than any other. She became a true collaborator, without whom the book would simply not have been possible.
And finally, words cannot fully convey my gratitude to my husband, Richard Goodwin, and our best friend, Michael Rothschild, who read every draft of every chapter, providing loving and constructive ideas, comments, and criticisms at every step along the way of this seven-year journey.