The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My debts begin with my colleagues at The New Yorker. I owe my entire career in journalism to Tina Brown, who took a chance on me four years ago and never stopped encouraging me. I thank Pat Crow for editing my Simpson stories for the magazine, and Elizabeth Dobell for providing skillful and diligent editorial research. I benefited throughout the case from the wise counsel of Maurie Perl, Jill Bernstein, and Melissa Pranger. My thanks also to Pam McCarthy and Dorothy Wickenden. I am grateful to David Remnick for his friendship, for his sensitive reading of the manuscript, and most of all for the example of his own work as a writer. My Los Angeles colleagues, Caroline Graham and Charlotte Reynolds, made me feel like family. Over the long life of the case, it seemed that everyone involved had a lawyer. I, however, had the best: Devereux Chatillon at The New Yorker, and Bradley Phillips, Michael Doyen, and Steven Weisburd of Munger, Tolles and Olson.

This book was written during a fellowship at the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University. I am grateful to all my colleagues there, especially its leaders during my tenure, Everette Dennis, Nancy Hicks Maynard, and Nancy Woodhull. Matt Dallek provided terrific research assistance and welcome companionship. My gratitude also to Nancy Grimes for her help at an earlier stage. I thank the West Publishing Company for providing me with on-line access to the trial transcript.

I could not have had a more supportive publisher. At Random House, Ann Godoff steered this project (and me) with confidence, savvy, and good cheer. The copy-editing team of Beth Pearson and Veronica Windholz greatly improved the manuscript. To Elsa Burt, Enrica Gadler, Ivan Held, Carol Schneider, and the boss, Harry Evans, my thanks for their enthusiasm. My agent, Esther Newberg, was (and is) always three steps ahead of everybody.

I must have done something right in my life to deserve friends like Michael Lynton, Jamie Alter, and Eloise Lynton, who allowed me to become the second-most-notorious houseguest in Los Angeles.

Thank you, also, to Wendy Gray and the Pirate.

I have been covering the Simpson case for almost half of my daughter’s life and about two-thirds of my son’s. Ellen brought great sophistication to her analysis of the case (“I think O.J. Simpson should be in time-out for a long time!”) and Adam a healthy skepticism for the whole endeavor (“No O.J., Daddy!”). They have flourished so much despite their father’s frequent absences because of their mother, Amy McIntosh. In addition to her duties at home, my beloved McIntosh has also scaled her own professional heights during this period and still found time to edit this manuscript with care. I treasure the adventure of our life together.

New York City

July 1996