Salmon P. Chase: A Biography
"John Niven...presents a meticulous study of Chase--the man and the politician. In the process, he throws a laser beam on the inner-workings of the Lincoln presidency and, more broadly, the politics of the age....Salmon P. Chaseis a fine biography of a complex man maneuvering through a complex time."--The Times(Trenton)"One of the Salmon P. Chase paradoxes is the fact that, among Lincoln's contemporaries, he has been relatively neglected because of his very importance. He was engaged in such a wide range of public activities as to intimidate biographers. Now, having mastered the sources, John Niven in the first comprehensive biography re-creates the man in all his complexity, personal as well as political. The book is as readable as it is authoritative."--Richard Nelson Current"A brilliant account of the public and personal life of one of the most complex and fascinating major figures of the Civil War era."--Kenneth Stampp, author ofAmerica in 1857: A Nation on the Brink"Niven's smooth but thorough biography reminds us of the importance to history of a long-forgotten player."--Booklist"In detailing Chase's quest for ever higher office, the author reveals a complex will."--The New Yorker(Recommended Reading)