The Mission Song (40 page)
Sincere thanks to Stephen Carter, my indefatigable researcher; to Brigid and Bob Edwards for journalistic and spiritual counsel; and to Sonja and John Eustace for matters nursing and medical. I am deeply indebted also to Jason Stearns of the International Crisis Group for his unique expertise and guidance during my brief visit to the Eastern Congo; to Al Venter, renowned veteran and chronicler of mercenary warfare; and to Michela Wrong, author of the splendid
In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz
and
I Didn’t Do It For You
, for giving so generously of her wisdom and editorial creativity. It is a convention in these cases to protest that the opinions expressed in this novel are, like its errors, mine alone. Such, as Salvo would say, is indeed the case. It is equally true that without my wife, Jane, I would still be floundering around page sixteen and wondering how two years had flitted by unnoticed.
John le Carré
Cornwall, 2006
