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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I AM ONE FORTUNATE AUTHOR. Not only is this my fourth book with the same publisher, Crown, but it’s my fourth with my beloved editor, Betty Prashker, and my agent, friend and consigliere, David Black. Once again all have proven to be steadfast allies, not flinching—at least not much—even when the manuscript arrived six months late. Betty has a remarkable ability to ease an author’s anxiety. She has edited so many books by so many fine writers that when she says, “Don’t worry, it will all be fine,” you know that indeed there is cause for calm.

At Crown my books have always received maximum support, thanks to the enthusiasm of Jenny Frost, Steve Ross, and Tina Constable, and their secret weapon, the legion of ardent book reps—evangelists, really—who escort Crown’s books into the world. Whitney Cookman made the book jacket beautiful; Janet Biehl, copy editor and savior, made it coherent. Penny Simon, supreme publicist, took on the all-important task of placing this book in the minds of readers. Special thanks go to Lindsey Moore, assistant editor, for cheerily serving as intermediary and finder.

I owe my greatest debt to my wife, Christine Gleason, and my daughters and dog for keeping me sane and relatively stable. It is hard to take yourself too seriously when you have three daughters all in or near their teens, especially if two of them are learning to drive. My wife once again demonstrated her innate talent for editing. She knows that when she receives my manuscript, she suddenly possesses a great deal of power, but she uses that power wisely—though those periodic trains of zzzzz’s in the margin did now and then wrench my soul from its moorings. She was right, though. As always.

I thank my friends Carrie Dolan and Robin Marantz Henig, both excellent writers, for also reading critical portions of the manuscript and advising me on how to adjust the narrative to enhance clarity and pace.

I am grateful also to my Italian teacher, Robert—Roberto—Strait, whose gift for acquiring language is exceeded only by his knack for conveying its secrets to his students. Italian is a gorgeous, dynamic language. Even the simplest phrase, if delivered with gusto, can sound magnificent.

My travels for this book occurred at a time when public opinion of America could not have been lower, but I was always treated with kindness and generosity. In Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, everyone is your friend. Immediately. In Italy, everyone wants to feed you. In Britain, every question I asked was met with warmth and humor. And the tea, as always, was marvelous.

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

Part I:

Guglielmo Marconi portrait reproduced by courtesy of Essex Record Office.

Part III:

Portrait of kite launch courtesy of The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, MSS Marconi.

Part V:

Portrait of Beatrice O’Brien reproduced by courtesy of Essex Record Office.

Notes and Sources:

Alvin Langdon Coburn, St. Paul’s from Ludgate Circus, from the book London, 1910; photogravure; Collection of the Prentice and Paul Sack Photographic Trust,