The American Plague - Molly Caldwell Crosby [113]
In writing about history, a book is only as good as its research.
For their help, time and support, I thank those in the Memphis and Shelby County History Room at the Memphis Library, particularly Patrica LaPointe. Not only did she help me make some of the connections vital to this story, but she granted me access to so many irreplaceable, original documents. I also want to thank Joan Echtenkamp Klein and Claudia Sueyras with the Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Collection at the University of Virginia’s Claude S. Moore Health Sciences Library. Their Walter Reed Collection is beautifully maintained; I rarely needed their assistance and that is a tribute to such an organized and accessible historical collection.
Also deserving of recognition are the curators of the Mississippi Valley Collection at the University of Memphis, the Health Sciences Library at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, the New York Academy of Medicine, the Library of Congress and the National Library of Medicine, as well as Georgia Fraser at Elmwood Cemetery, Elizabeth Wirls at the St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis, Professor Gary Lindquester in the Rhodes College Department of Biology and Ron Brister at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned as a writer is to be a reader of great writing. I have had the privilege to know and learn from some truly great writers: Candice Millard Uhlig, a gifted author and cherished friend; Hampton Sides, who was kind enough to give a first-time author and fellow-Memphian his help and encouragement; and Robert M. Poole, whose talent as an editor is exceeded only by his talent as a writer. A former executive editor at National Geographic, Bob Poole saw enough potential in me as a writer to give me a chance. I thank him for that.
I would also like to thank Mary Collins, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Zanvyl Kreiger School of Arts and Sciences, who has pushed me, challenged me and taught me. She was involved in the proposal for this book as well as in editing early drafts. I would also like to thank David Everett, my thesis advisor in the Hopkins writing program who first introduced me to the genre of narrative nonfiction.
So many friends offered their encouragement and support during this project. I would like to thank personally Allison Cates, Claire Davis, Jennifer Fox, Tessa Hambleton, Davida Kales, Lauren Kindler and Margaret McLean. Special thanks to Andy Cates, a long-suffering champion of my writing.
I am eternally grateful to my parents, Tom and Betsy Caldwell, and my in-laws Glenn and Nancy Ann Crosby, for their unceasing support, time, encouragement and commitment. I am indebted to them for allowing me to have a career in writing as well as a family without giving up one for the other. My parents have taught me to follow my passion and never once questioned where it might take me. I thank them for instilling in me such a valuable lesson—that life is too short to spend it doing anything other than what you love. As Memphians, Nancy Ann and Glenn Crosby took an active interest in this story; as a doctor, Glenn Crosby allowed me to sit in his study and riffle through medical texts; and as my in-laws, they offered their steadfast encouragement.
I would also like to thank other family members who have been sounding boards and sources of strength. My sister Lindsey has been an ever-present and perpetual believer in me, and I thank her for her unconditional love and support. Scott Crosby, an avid reader of nonfiction, always seemed sure that I would write this book. I thank him for his optimism