The Doubt Factory

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’d like to thank a number of people who inspired me, supported me, and kicked me to make this a better book.

Holly Black, Malinda Lo, Sarah Rees Brennan, Cassandra Clare, and Cristi Jacques helped me brainstorm the heart of this book while on retreat in Mexico, and sparked the creation of many of the characters who populate this story. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun planning a novel. Other people who provided support, problem solving, and detail fixing along the way include Tobias Buckell, Rob Ziegler, Charlie Finlay, and Ken Liu. Diane Budy read early drafts and cheerfully acted as a reading lab rat. My wife, Anjula, took time out of her own busy schedule to read through a draft of the manuscript and provide responses, and she was immensely encouraging and supportive as this book crashed toward deadline. I owe her more than I can say, and I’m grateful for every day I have with her.

I am particularly grateful to the many people at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers who believed that a book about public relations was worth supporting, and I’d especially like to thank my editor, Andrea Spooner, and assistant editor, Deirdre Jones, whose help and wisdom and candid assessments gave me better insight into this book, and whose dedication and willingness to work too many long hours helped me push this book through to completion. As in all things, details matter, so I owe a tip of the hat to my fact-checker, Christoph Berendes, for saving me from a number of embarrassing gaffes, but most especially for making sure that I didn’t confuse livers and kidneys. If there are remaining errors in this book, they are my errors solely.

Much gratefulness also goes to my friend Michelle Nijhuis, whose article for Pacific Standard, “The Doubt Makers,” jump-started my interest in this topic many years ago, and whose guidance and research suggestions for this book were invaluable. I’d also like to thank Dr. Theo Colborn and Dr. Frederick vom Saal for a long-ago conversation in which they shared their experiences as science researchers who had to battle the product-defense professionals. On a personal note, I’d also like to thank the many scientists, journalists, and public servants who continue to drag the ever-evolving tactics of the doubt industry into the light.

Finally, I’d like to thank my much-neglected son, Arjun. I swear, now that this book is done, we’ll have more time to read together.