On Endings: American Postmodern Fiction and the Cold War

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments An earlier version of chapter 2 appeared in Clio: A Journal of Literature, History, and the Philosophy of History (2008), and a shorter version of chapter 4 (Copyright © 2011 The Johns Hopkins University Press) appeared in ELH 78, no. 3 (Fall 2011). I’m grateful to both journals for permission to revisit those essays, and for the very helpful input of their anonymous readers. I owe many thanks: Mitchell Breitwieser prevented my sophomore self from a full-time defection to the philosophy department, and a course in my junior year convinced me that graduate school might be in my future. And when that future arrived, it was Mitch who guided me through it, with just the right combination of support and insight. I owe him more than I can say. John Bishop and Fred Dolan also provided crucial feedback and help as I began to conceptualize this project. Washington University in St. Louis proved to be a hospitable home to think about the Cold War, and to bring this book to completion. Thanks are especially due to the two department chairs under whom I’ve been fortunate enough to work. David Lawton took the chance on hiring me, and made me feel immediately welcome; Vincent Sherry’s own work on war and literature has been enormously inspiring, and this book benefitted in many ways from his attention. Guinn Batten and Dillon Johnston helped me feel at home, and have remained the best of friends; Joseph Loewenstein’s comments on the abstract for this book sharpened my thinking, as did Bill Maxwell’s, and Steven Meyer supplied several key sources. Lara Bovilsky, Dillon Brown, Benjy Kahan, Anca Parvulescu, viii / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS and Jessica Rosenfeld read chapter 4 with great care; and Bill McKelvy guided me through the late stages of this project with characteristic cheerfulness and warmth. Outside the English Department, Rob Henke has been incredibly supportive, and a long rainy-day conversation with Angela Miller helped me to think about this project in new ways. My students have been an extraordinary resource, and though they all deserve thanks, two graduate students deserve special recognition: Katie Muth has patiently listened to and helped improve these ideas more times than she can count, and Dustin Iler was especially helpful on Richard Powers. I am delighted to have the chance to thank friends and colleagues whosesupportenabledmetobringthisprojecttoaclose.DavidWidmark and Paul Morrison kept me honest, and kept me fed. Mark Pedretti and Mitchum Huehls were there from the beginning with careful feedback and constant good cheer. Steve Belletto, Mike LeMahieu, Benj Widiss, Matt Wilkens, and Joe Jeon have offered warmly appreciated camaraderie and advice. At crucial points, conversations with Deborah Nelson, Franny Nudelman, Deak Nabers, Priscilla Wald, and Andrew Hoberek were helpful and inspiring in equal parts, and Franny’s reading of the entire manuscript was a gift I will not soon forget. My thanks as well to the wonderful staff at the University of Virginia Press: Cathie Brettschneider, Ellen Satrom, and Raennah Mitchell have made what I imagined would be a stressful process a joy. Jason Harvey’s cover design was a dream come true. Alan Nadel and an anonymous reader reported on the manuscript for the press, and their comments were invaluable. Tim Roberts at the American Literatures Initiative has been wonderful to work with, and I’m grateful to Susan Murray for her copyediting. If this book has a single origin, it can no doubt be traced back to a childhood in the San Fernando Valley, just a few miles down the road from the defense contractor satirized in The Crying of Lot 49. While those early years certainly have something to do with my interests, more vitally it was the family tradition of intense conversation with my parents , Anne and Jeff, and my sister, Elizabeth, that set me on this path, and I dedicate this book to them. Finally and most importantly, my love to Marina MacKay, who both prevented and bandaged many an intellectual paper cut of mine, and suffered more than a few physical ones of her own during her countless, and transformative, rereadings of this manuscript. On Endings ...