The Boy Who Stole from the Dead

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am indebted to the many articles and books I sourced for historical context and setting. Among them were Mark Hollingworth’s and Steward Lansley’s Londongrad, and Peter Lane Taylor’s The Secret of Priest’s Grotto.

My sincere thanks to the following people for their invaluable assistance:

Professor Roman Voronka and Mykola Haliv helped with various matters Ukrainian, including editorial input and book reviews. They are the smartest and kindest men in any room. Kim Palmer, Pam Marra, Jeff Palmer, Mary Jane Cronin, Jim Cronin, John Jarosz, Eudokia Stelmach, Dan Simeone, and Bob Simeone spread the word. Thanks to Bob for also sharing his intricate knowledge of firearms. How lucky I am to call you family and friends. Olga Konuich, Lydia Gulawsky, and the other members of the Soyuz Ukrainok of Warren, Michigan, turned a conference call into a motivating experience. The Ukrainian Museum in New York City, Paul Stankus, Jud Ashman, and the entire Gaithersburg Book Festival provided generous hospitality. Kathy Ryan and Chernobyl Children International make wonderful partners and create an effective means for every reader to help save children’s lives with the purchase of a book. My intrepid editors, Alison Dasho and Charlotte Herscher, shepherd a book to creation and kill the darlings within like nobody’s business. The rest of the team at Thomas & Mercer including Alan Turkus, Terry Goodman, Jacque Ben-Zekry, Gracie Doyle and Paul Morrissey have supported and promoted this author beyond all reasonable expectations. For this I will always remain indebted to Daphne Durham, the high priestess of the Boy cult, and Andy Bartlett. My fierce and fabulous literary agent, Erica Silverman, remains my formidable and trusted partner and friend.

And, of course, I must thank my wife, Robin for her continued support and encouragement. Her husband will forever be the boy who got lucky.