The research about McCarthy’s books would have been impossible without the help of many people, collectors, bookdealers, scholars, publishers, friends of Cormac, librarians, auctioneers who have been helping for several years. My deep thanks go to all of them. My apologies if I forgot someone. 

Anastasia Armendariz at the Pepperdine University, Malibu; Aurora Bell at the University of South Carolina Press; Thomas Birkenhead and Danni Corfield, Random House Uk Archive; Emma Bravo and Elly Crookes, hugely helped by allowing me to get information from Picador records; Scott Brown, bookdealer who shared his important article about forgeries of McCarthy’s books; Jud Burgess of Brave Books, El Paso; Erika B. Castaño, Digital Initiatives Archivist & University of Arizona History Curator, University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections; David Cunningham, owner of Ulysses Rare Books in Dublin; Michael Di Ruggero, bookdealer and friend, who sold to me the best letter I own by McCarthy; Alie Dowell who found a key article about Howard Woolmer; Riccardo Duranti, translator and writer; Cynthia Farah Haines, photographer and McCarthy’s friend, kindly shared memories and a gorgeous unpublished photographic portrait of Cormac; Gary Fiskjeton, former publisher at Vintage and Knopf and McCarthy’s editor, answered with endless patience my questions and shared key, first hand information; Paul Ford, longtime friend and passionate collector: his invaluable advice has supported me for many years; Chris Geherin, Archivist at the Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (waiting to meet him in Sicily); Laurence Gonzales, Mccarthy’s friend and biographer, kindly shared information about his gorgeous collection and more; Peyton Gupton, serious collector from Knoxville, helped with his knowledge and by providing key photos; Grace Hale, Reference Librarian, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections, University of Virginia; Philip Horowitz, collector and friend; Tabby Ives, account manager at Flint, your help was great, thanks!; Peter Josiph, artist and writer, passionate McCarthy scholar; Bryan Kasik, Reference Librarian, University of Virginia Libraries; Jerry Kelleher, bookdealer; Ken Lopez, bookdealer, helped to build my collection and to clean it from forgeries; Dianne C. Luce, prominent McCarthy scholar and friend: without her eye opening book “Embracing vocation”, her advice and her generosity, this research wouldn’t have been possible; Christopher MacLehose, important English publisher and key figure in the diffusion of McCarthy’s work in England; McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa, special collection staff; Daisy Meyrick at CAA; Linnea Minich and Mandy Johnson who helped by providing information about the Sewanee Review; Lisa Misosky, owner of Southland Books in Maryville, Tennessee; Maggie Mitts, Research Assistant at Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin; Melina Moe, PhD, Curator of Literature, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University; Raul Montanari, prominent translator of McCarthy works to Italian and writer; Wesley Morgan, scholar and passionate researcher of McCarthy’s Knoxville and circle, a wonderful mine of information which he generously shared with me; Tal Nadan, Reference Archivist, The Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room for Rare Books and Manuscripts, The New York Public Library; Amir Naghib, smart bookdealer and old friend who has been trading books and sharing sharp observations with me for fifteen years; Shelby Newman, Reference Archival Associate, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University; Stacey Peebles, scholar and prominent member of the Cormac Mccarthy Society; Rachel Phillips at Burnside Rare Books; Abha Eli Phoboo, Director of Communications, Santa Fe Institute; Sara Pucci, greatly helped with all the Italian first editions published by Einaudi; Regina Rush, Reference Librarian, Small Special Collections Library at University of Virginia; Katie Salzmann, Lead Archivist at Albert B. Alkek Library, Texas State University, San Marcos, for her competence, kindness and lightening advice; Eric Smith, Managing Editor & Poetry Editor at The Sewanee Review; Peter Strauss, former publisher at Picador who provided important information; Paul Suntup, publisher of beautiful illustrated editions of Blood Meridian and The Road, shared generously little known information, so thank you (even if you didn’t want to sell me the only left proof of BM); Darren Sutherland at Bonhams; Diana Tesdell, writer and editor at Vintage; Raymond Todd, philosopher, activist and new friend; Britton E. Trice, publisher, kindly shared every available information about his McCarthy limited editions; Matthew Turi, Manuscripts Research and Instruction Librarian, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Renée Tursi, Manager, Office of the President, Santa Fe Institute; University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections Library staff; Amanda Urban, prominent figure in the literary American landscape and McCarthy agent, helped answering my questions, so thank you very much; LuAnn Walther, former editor at Vintage; Mark Warner, Australian bookdealer; Thomas Wells; Alexander Wochnik, bookdealer and friend who brought to me the Murray collection of Cormac McCarthy and more than that.

This research is dedicated to my father Felice who taught me to love books; to my mother Malvina who at 94 is still an eager reader; to my wife Marina, whose second book I look forward to reading; to my son Lorenzo who doesn’t read, hoping for a miracle.