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acknowledgments

I was home not long ago and one of my friends said to me, “But what will we do without Clara? She is the only continuity in our lives.” And indeed, the writing of this book has spanned my entire adult life, with all of its friendships, false starts, high times and low moments. I feel, thus, that just about everyone I know has lived through—some would say survived—this exercise with me. My debt for their support and patience is correspondingly large.

The dedication of this book to my mother and late father was not made idly. I owe everything I have, or have achieved, to them. And in these acknowledgments I would expand this to include my two wonderful sisters, Beverly Louise Brown and Peggy Ann Brown.

I would also specially note the assistance I received from Charles Rosenberg and Drew Faust of the University of Pennsylvania. Not only did they stretch my thinking and encourage me, they read and reread the manuscript, offered significant critical advice, and in the end virtually acted as agents for the book. All of this strikes me as considerably above and beyond their duties as graduate advisors.

Mention should also be made of the fine help given to me over a ten-year period from the staffs of the Clara Barton National Historic Site, the National Archives, the American National Red Cross, and, particularly, the Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Their willingness to share their resources and offer information and assistance were invaluable.

And for all of those who suffered through tales of Miss Barton at cocktail parties and dinners, who prodded me when I most needed it, who typed, read, proofread, listened to my frustration or exhilaration: there is nothing I can do to repay you. To those listed below I can only offer my love, and a most heartfelt thank you.

George Beuchert, Ed and Agnes Chatelain, Elizabeth David, Pepe Garcia, Robert Grogg, John and Julie Hamre, Frank Parker, Barbara Pryor, Tony Pryor, Cheryl Russell, Dean Sagar, Janet Tighe, Sandy Weber.