At the time I write this novel there are two Chicago news-

papers, the Tribune and the Sun-Times, both on what Red

Kane would call the "Rive Dmite" of the Chicago River.

One could write many splendid novels about either of

them, not all necessarily scurrilous.

However, for the purposes of this book I have created a

third Chicago paper, the Herald Gazette. located it on the

"Rive Gauche" and transferred to its ownership the United

of America Building. None of the journalists who work at

this illustrious, ff altogether imaginary, paper are based on

actual living human beings in Chicago. If any readers think

they see themselves in the sundry characters that inhabit

the Herald Gazette Building, the explanation is either coin-

cidence or paranoia.

I add this note. not to fend off libel suits, but to remind

the folks who might want to see themselves in a novel that

they are not nearly as interesting as my imaginary re-

porters. Moreover, this is not a novel about Chicago re-

porters (though many interesting such novels could be

written, not all of them scurrilous), but about one man s

desperate flight down the days and down the years.

All the other characters are also products of my imagina-

tion, as are the events of the story.

If this be interpreted as meaning that I think I can create

more interesting Chicago journalists than God has, all I can

say in reply is that God doesn t seem to have been working

very hard at it lately.

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