Too Big to Fail - Andrew Ross Sorkin [294]
One of the reasons I wrote this book at all was that I was lucky enough to have as my editor Viking’s Rick Kot, who edited my favorite business book of all time, Barbarians at the Gate. Rick was a good friend before this project, and he’s an even better friend now. He hustled to make this book work under enormous time pressure, and his deft editing improved every page. His assistant, Laura Tisdel, was also remarkable, simultaneously juggling a dozen moving parts at the same time. Clare Ferraro, Viking’s president, believed in the vision of this project from the moment I walked in the door to pitch it. I am also indebted to the rest of the Viking team, who worked around the clock to make this book happen: Rachel Burd, Carla Bolte, Pat Lyons, Fabiana Van Arsdell, Paul Buckley, Jennifer Wang, Carolyn Coleburn, Yen Cheong, Louise Braverman, Linda Cowen, Alex Gigante, Melanie Belkin, Jane Cavolina, Norina Frabotta, Susan Johnson, John Jusino, Michael Burke, Martha Cameron, Beth Caspar, Hilary Roberts, Jackie Véissid, Christina Caruccio, and Noirin Lucas.
My agent, David McCormick, did everything a good agent should do—only better. I’m also grateful to P. J. Mark, who handled the international sales of this project, and Leslie Falk. I must also thank Matthew Snyder, my film agent at Creative Artists Agency, who has been with me since 2001.
I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my extraordinary colleagues at the Times, many of whom generously offered their editorial guidance—and, more important, emotional support—whenever I was on the verge of mental and physical exhaustion, which was more often than I’d like to admit. I’m especially grateful to Jenny Anderson, Liz Alderman, Alex Berenson, Adam Bryant, Eric Dash, Charles Duhigg, Geraldine Fabrikant, Mark Getzfred, David Gillen, Diana Henriques, David Joachim, P. J. Joshi, Kevin McKenna, Dan Niemi, Joseph Nocera, Floyd Norris, Winnie O’Kelley, Cass Peterson, Tim Race, and Louise Story. I’d also like to single out a special group of people at the Times who have become a very important part of my life: the team behind DealBook, an online financial report I started in 2001. My good friends and trusted partners, Peter Edmonston, Michael J. de la Merced, and Liza Klaussmann, are largely responsible for much of our early success. As our team has grown, it has also been a pleasure to work with Zachery Kouwe, Steven M. Davidoff, Jack Lynch, Cyrus Sanati, and Chris V. Nicholson.
I’d also like to acknowledge my friends at CNBC, especially the Squawk Box team and the old Kudlow & Cramer crew, which put me on television when I was twenty-five years old and had no business being in front of a camera.
A handful of friends from various parts of my life who supported this project and my career also deserve thanks: David Berenson, Dan Bigman, Graydon Carter, Cynthia Colonna, Alan Cowell, David Faber, David Goodman, Warren Hoge, Mark Hoffman, Ben Hordell, Joe Kernen, the Malman family, the Queen family, Carl Quintanilla, Anita Raghavan, Dan Richenthal, Becky Quick, Charlie Rose, Seth and Shari Saideman, the Schneiderman family, Alixandra Smith, Doug Stumpf, Matt and Melissa Sussberg, Jonathan Wald, the Weinberg family, Josh and Lauren Wolfe, and Michael Wolff. I’m sure I have inadvertently left out more than one person on this list, for which I apologize in advance. (I have purposely not included anyone who could possibly be confused as a source for this book.)
Perhaps my biggest thank you goes to my employer, the New York Times. I first started at the paper when I was eighteen years old, back in the spring of 1995, pretty much by accident. Stuart Elliott, the paper’s advertising columnist, whom I read religiously, was crazy enough to let me in the building. An editor, Felicity Barringer—unaware of my age—took