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xv Acknowledgments It is a humbling task to try to understand how tiny creatures persist in our homes and cities. I am humbled anew as I think of the people whose wisdom, patience, generosity, and love have supported me through this task, and to whom I owe many debts of gratitude. My first thanks go to Bill Cronon and Marianne Keddington-Lang, who have nurtured this project from its inchoate and sprawling beginnings to its current form. Bill always reminded me of my intellectual purpose when writing became difficult. I can never repay him for his faith in me, for his patience during hard times, and for his keen insight into the crafts of research and writing. Marianne has also shown extraordinary patience and good cheer through changes in the shape and timeline of the book. I am astounded at the hard work she has done to see this project to completion—a thousand mea culpas for the times I created more work. I have benefited from the wisdom and kindness of several other mentors . Special thanks go to Gregg Mitman, who pointed me in the direction of this project in the first place and, more than almost anyone else, shaped my thinking about health, environment, and social justice. Lisa Naughton, Matthew Turner, Kris Olds, and Judy Leavitt gave creative ideas, incisive critiques, and much-needed doses of reality during the project’s formative stages. Graeme Wynn, Paul Robbins, and Sylvia Hood Washington provided scholarly nudges at key moments. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers who guided me toward important changes in the book’s content, structure, and argument. Several organizations provided generous funding that allowed me to visit archives, conduct interviews, and dedicate my time to working on this book. The National Science Foundation jump-started my research efforts, andtheUniversityofMaryland,BaltimoreCounty,alsoprovidedfundsfor research travel and to hire research assistants. The American Association xvi Acknowledgments of University Women, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, all provided generous support that allowed me to take time out from other responsibilities and focus my attention on writing. Thanks to Sandy Parker for being a constant advocate for me and my research. Thanks to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Geography, which funded my graduate studies with scholarships and assistantships. Many archivists and librarians have patiently guided me through their collections and pointed out sources that otherwise would have remained hidden to me. Thanks to Robert Battaly and Beth Jaffe of the Rockefeller Archive Center; Lyle Benedict of the Chicago Public Library; Tad Bennicoff at the Smithsonian Institution Archives; Philip Deloria and Thomas Hollowak of the Langsdale Library Special Collections; Allen Fischer of theLBJLibrary;DeryaGolpinarattheLowerEastSideTenementMuseum; Tab Lewis of the National Archives in College Park; Eileen Lipinski of the Milwaukee Legislative Reference Bureau; and Micaela Sullivan-Fowler at UW-Madison’s Ebling Library. Thanks to the Artists’ Rights Society and Emory Douglas, the Chicago Public Library, the City of Milwaukee, the Journal of Housing, the Journal of Mammalogy, the University of Baltimore, and the National Pest Management Association for their kind permission to use images, and to the Rockefeller Archive Center for kind permission to cite and quote material. Thanks also to staff at the City of New York Municipal Reference Bureau, the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Library of Congress, the Maryland State Historical Society, the National Library of Medicine, the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center, Special Collections and University Archives at Rutgers University, and the Washington , D.C., Historical Society. Material in chapters 1, 2, and 3 of this book was previously published in two journal articles: “Permeable Homes: A Historical Political Ecology of Insects and Pesticides in U.S. Public Housing,” Geoforum 40 (2009): 1014–23; and “Flies, Manure, and Window Screens,” Journal of Historical Geography 36 (2010): 68–78. Thanks to these journals for easing the process of using this material. Several people have shared their stories about pests with me, taking time out from work and family, welcoming me into their homes and offices. Acknowledgments xvii Helga and William Olkowski, William Jackson, Eugene Wood, and Wayne White were especially generous and welcoming, and Sarah Ruffin shared the most difficult story of all. For their time, insights, and suggestions, I thank Barbara Brenner, the Honorable Spencer Coggs, Stephen Frantz, Gregory Glass, Stuart Greenberg, Colin Ellis, Charlie Haug, Anthhu Hoang, Ruth Hopgood, Ray Lopez, Cindy Mannes, Kenneth Metzger, Gary Piper, Saint Prillerman, Silvia Salazar, Kathy Seikel...

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