THE LONG PROCESS of writing and editing this book has a rich subtext of private and academic life: my son Leonard was born during that time, and it was his laughter, courage, and ability to seize the day that kept me going. Without the support of my family I could not have carried out this project. I am grateful to my parents, Rosemarie and Klemens Rosenthal, who at various times literally gave me a room of my own while they took loving care of their grandson. I also whole-heartedly want to thank my husband, Peter Braun, for the many fruitful discussions that helped me through the thicket of writing and, most of all, for proving that each of us can have the better of both worlds — family and an academic career. I started working on this study as an Assistant Professor at the University of Constance, and I am grateful to the wonderful North American Studies team there: Reingard Nischik, my long-time academic mentor, has been supportive of me and this book throughout, and on various levels; discussing my project in her research colloquium, especially with Dr. Eva Gruber and Julia Breitbach, has been invaluable. I finished this book as an Associate Professor at the University of Heidelberg and edited it at the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena, where I was appointed Chair of American Literature in 2009. My new team here has been extremely reliable, highly efficient, and deeply conscientious in proof-reading the final manuscript and in giving it its finishing touches.