Paranoia

Acknowledgments

Roll the credits. They're woefully long, but this one's been in development and production a long time.

Researching my other novels has taken me around the world and into places like KGB headquarters in Moscow, but nothing prepared me for how strange and fascinating I'd find the world of the American high-tech corporation. No one opened more doors to me, or gave of his time more generously, than my old friend David Hsiao of Cisco Systems, where I was also helped immensely by Tom Fallon, Dixie Garr, Pete Long, Richard Henkus, Gene Choy, Katie Foster, Bill LePage, Armen Hovanessian, Sue Zanner, and Molly Tschang. At Apple Computer, Kate Lepow was enormously helpful. At Nortel, my friend Carter Kersh was a thoughtful (and witty) guide, arranging for me to meet his colleagues, including Martin McNarney, Alyene Mclennan, Matt Portoni, Raj Raman, Guyves Achtari, and Alison Steel. I also had some interesting conversations with Matt Zanner of Hewlett Packard, Ted Sprague of Ciena, Rich Wyckoff of Marimba, Rich Rothschild of Ariba, Bob Scordino of EMC, Adam Stein of Juniper Networks, and Colin Angle of iRobot.

Some very smart friends helped me dream up the financial shenanigans and stealth tactics in the background of the story. They included Roger McNamee, Jeff Bone, Glover Lawrence, and especially my friend Giles McNamee, who brainstormed with me in the spirit of a true unindicted co-conspirator. Nell Minow of The Corporate Library in Washington helped me understand boardroom politics and corporate governance.

In the area of corporate security and intelligence, I got some invaluable assistance from some of the greats in the field, including Leonard Fuld, Arthur Hulnick, George K. Campbell, Mark H. Beaudry, Dan Geer, and the corporate espionage expert Ira Winkler. The legal background of Paranoia benefited from the advice of my great friend Joe Teig; Jackie Nakamura ofDay Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder (and thanks to Alex Beam for introducing us); and Robert Stein of Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn; as well as two of his colleagues, Jeffrey Johnson and particularly Jay Shapiro. Adam's expertise in cool new tech products came from Jim Mann of Compaq, the lead designer of the iPaq; Bert Keely of Microsoft; Henry Holtzman of MIT's Media Lab; Simson Garfinkel; Joel Evans of Geek.com; Wes Salmon of PDABuzz.com; and especially Greg Joswiak, Vice President of Hardware Product Marketing at Apple Computer.

Some of Adam's youthful exploits were inspired by the tales of Keith McGrath, Jim Galvin of the Boston Police, and Emily Bindinger. On FrancisX. Cassidy's medical condition, I was helped by my brother, Dr. Jonathan Finder, and Karen Heraty, that angel of a nurse. Jack McGeorge of the Public Safety Group helped me, as always, with numerous technical details. My close friend Rick Weissbourd contributed in all sorts of ways. I've been fortunate to have the help of some excellent research assistants, including John H. Romero, Michael Lane, and the great Kevin Biehl. And my assistant, Rachel Pomerantz, is truly the best.

I'm awed by the enormous enthusiasm and support of the entire talented publishing team at St. Martin's Press, including John Sargent, Sally Richardson, Matthew Shear, and John Cunningham; in marketing, Matthew Baldacci, Jim DiMiero, and Nancy Trypuc; in publicity, John Murphy and Gregg Sullivan; Mike Storrings, Christina Harcar, Mary Beth Roche, Joe McNeely, Laura Wilson, Tom Siino, Tom Leigh, and Andy LeCount. To have a whole publishing house rooting for you is a rare thing in any writer's life, and I extend my deepest thanks to all of them.

Howie Sanders of the United Talent Agency has been an enthusiastic supporter of this book from the beginning. My literary agent, Molly Friedrich, is just all-round terrific: unswervingly loyal, smart, sage, and just really good people.

My brother, Henry Finder, the editorial director of The New Yorker, is a remarkable editor. Fortunately, he's my first reader and editor and collaborator as well; his contribution to this novel was truly immeasurable. And Keith Kahla, my editor at St. Martin's Press, is not only a marvelous editor but also a diplomat, a lobbyist, a tireless advocate, and a behind-the-scenes generalissimo with the patience of a saint. I'm grateful to him more than I can say, and certainly more than he'd allow me to say here.