All the great prizes
Subtitle: the life of John Hay, from Lincoln to Roosevelt
By: John Taliaferro
Edition: 1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2013
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 673
ISBN-13: 9781416597308; 9781416597346
Subjects: Politics and government; Friends and associates; Foreign relations; Biography; Statesmen
Description: John Hay was both witness and author of many of the most significant chapters in American history--from the birth of the Republican Party, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War, to the prelude to the First World War. Much of what we know about Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt comes to us through the observations Hay made while private secretary to one and secretary of state to the other. Hay's friends included virtually every president, sovereign, author, artist, power broker, and robber baron of the Gilded Age. As an ambassador and statesman, he guided many of the country's major diplomatic initiatives at the turn of the twentieth century: the Open Door with China, the creation of the Panama Canal, the establishment of America as a world leader. But for all his poise and polish, he had his secrets. His marriage to one of the wealthiest women in the country did not prevent him from pursuing the Madame X of Washington society, whose other secret suitor was Hay's best friend, Henry Adams. Here is the epic tale of one of the most amazing figures in American history.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [613]-642) and index.
Table of contents: title: Oughtnottobiography; title: Spunky point; title: Potomac fever; title: Bolts of war; title: Progress of democracy; title: Plain language; title: Millionaires' row; title: Roses in a glue-factory; title: Scorpions; title: Everlasting angels; title: Two on the terrace; title: Tame cats; title: The English mission; title: Setting the table; title: Spheres of influence; title: Rope of sand; title: A reasonable time; title: Fair warning; title: Color of right; title: Hayism; title: All the great prizes.