As someone who grew up on Long Island during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, I was incredulous to discover the extent of influence the Ku Klux Klan once had in the area. During the 1920s it is estimated that one out of every seven people had some affiliation with the Klan. For a great essay on this phenomenon, seek out David Behrens's "The KKK Flares Up on L.I.," which can be found on the Web as part of a wonderful site constructed by Newsday that deals with many facets of the history of the island. There are also other fascinating articles to be found on this site written by Newsday staff reporters: http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-history-hs725a,0,7485380.story.
Unfortunately, the Eugenics Record Office is not a darkly fanciful invention but a true historical institution. Granted, my character Dr. Agarias, as well as his rogue experimental research supported by shady powerbrokers, is a fictional construct, but for coherent historical information about the ERO and its racist implications there are two excellent books for the interested reader-War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race by Edwin Black and The Unfit: A History of a Bad Idea by Elof Axel Carlson. On the Web one can also find Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement at http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/ and "Carrie Buck's Daughter: A Popular, Quasi-Scientific Idea Can Be a Powerful Tool for Injustice" by Stephen J. Gould at
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1134/is_6_111/ai_87854861/print.
I believe the correlation that my character The Worm makes between Henry Ford's invention of the assembly line from his knowledge of slaughterhouses and Hitler's assembly line of genocide can be traced back to the controversial but interesting book by Charles Patterson, Eternal Treblinka.
On a lighter note, for a wonderful Web site teeming with information about the history of Coney Island and its denizens, the reader should investigate Greetings from Coney Island authored by Jeff Stanton at http://naid.sspsr.ucla.edu/coneyisland/index.html. For information pertaining to butterflies in Schell's bugatorium, I consulted a number of basic field guides, and also a charming book An Obsession with Butterflies by Sharman Apt Russell.
In addition to the textual references listed above, I had great help on this book by way of early readers-Rick Bowes, Michael Gallagher, and Bill Watkins. For a firsthand view of Long Island in the 1930s, I repeatedly tapped my old man, James E. Ford, who grew up in Amityville and lived his whole life on the island. And for the Spanish spoken by Isabel in the course of the story, a way of denoting the uniqueness of the culture represented by her and Diego without too badly confusing readers of English, I solicited help from my college Spanish teacher and longtime friend, Patricia Manley, and also my Spanish-language guru, Gabe Mesa.
I also owe a great debt of gratitude for the support and encouragement of my editor, Jennifer Brehl, and her indispensable editorial advice, which helped to make this book the best it could be. And last but by no means least, a thank-you to Howard Morhaim, my agent, for his steadfast and valuable guidance.