Synopses & Reviews
If Henry James or Edith Wharton had written a novel describing the accomplished and glamorous life and times of John Hay, it would have been thought implausibleand#8212;a novelistand#8217;s fancy. Nevertheless, John Taliaferroand#8217;s brilliant biography captures the extraordinary life of Hay, one of the most amazing figures in American history, and restores him to his rightful place.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;John Hay was both witness and author of many of the most significant chapters in American historyand#8212; 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. With andlt;Iandgt;All the Great Prizes, andlt;/Iandgt;the first authoritative biography of Hay in eighty years, Taliaferro has turned the lens around, rendering a rich and fascinating portrait of this brilliant American and his many worlds.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Hayand#8217;s friends are a whoand#8217;s who of the era: Mark Twain, Horace Greeley, Henry Adams, Henry James, and 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 countryand#8217;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.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Hayand#8217;s peers esteemed him as and#8220;a perfectly cut stoneand#8221; and and#8220;the greatest prime minister this republic has ever known.and#8221; 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 Hayand#8217;s best friend, Henry Adams.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;With this superb work, Taliaferro brings us an epic tale.
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"John Hay is one of the seminal statesmen in American history. andlt;iandgt;All the Great Prizesandlt;/iandgt; is the grand book he so richly deserves.and#8221;
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and#8220;One of the most intriguing political figures of the Gilded Age, Hay emerges in this beautifully narrated book as an astute, if sometimes unwilling, eyewitness to history. Making deft use of Hayand#8217;s own letters, some only recently discovered, Taliaferro brings the man to life.and#8221;
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"John Hay began his career as private secretary to Abraham Lincoln, writing many of Lincoln's letters, and ended it as secretary of state in the administrations of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, responsible for many of their foreign-policy achievements.
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"John Hay has long been one of those remarkable American figures who hide in plain historical sightand#8212;until now. With insight and eloquence, John Taliaferro has brought Hay into the foreground, telling a remarkable story remarkably well."
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and#8220;John Hay led more than one charmed lifeand#8212;yet endured more than his share of tragedy. John Taliaferro brings Lincoln's gifted secretary and biographerand#8212;and Theodore Roosevelt's accomplished secretary of stateand#8212;back to vivid life in this page-turning account of an extraordinary eyewitness to, and maker of, American history. After generations of bewildering neglect, Hay needs a great biography no longer.and#8221;
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and#8220;At long last, John Hay has gotten the biography he deserves. From his youthful service at Lincoln's side to his late years as Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of State, this gifted writer, diplomat, and friend was a central figure in America's exciting journey from near-death to world power. John Taliaferro tells this remarkable life in rich and flowing detail.and#8221;
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and#8220;Utterly fantasticand#8230;the definitive portrait of a man whose life spanned a crucial era in American history and#8211; and whose work helped to define that era. A genius of animation works on every page. Itand#8217;s the authorand#8217;s best book.and#8221;
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and#8220;Given that John Hayand#8217;s public career was bookended by his service to Lincoln and Roosevelt, it seems surprising that this is the first biography written about him in 80 years. Thanks to Taliaferroand#8217;s skillful work, it seems unlikely that another will be needed for a while.and#8221;
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and#8220;This is a great biography of a great American.and#8221;
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“Utterly fantastic…the definitive portrait of a man whose life spanned a crucial era in American history - and whose work helped to define that era. A genius of animation works on every page. It’s the author’s best book.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Open Letters Monthly - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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“Given that John Hay’s public career was bookended by his service to Lincoln and Roosevelt, it seems surprising that this is the first biography written about him in 80 years. Thanks to Taliaferro’s skillful work, it seems unlikely that another will be needed for a while.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - The Dallas Morning News - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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"A valuable reassessment of an underestimated politician and diplomat" < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - The Economist - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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“This is a great biography of a great American.” < -="" i="" -=""> - < -="" b="" -=""> - The Washington Independent Review of Books - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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“Taliaferro’s textured portrait exemplifies the better productions of the biographical craft.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Booklist - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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“Taliaferro’s skillful, admiring biography (the first since 1934) brings Hay vividly to life by setting him among family, friends (many of them well-known figures in their own right), and the well-heeled political circles in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, in which Hay moved with ease.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Publishers Weekly - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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"The best life of Hay that we have and a persuasive argument for taking another look at the life of a career public servant” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Kirkus Reviews - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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“Taliaferro takes the reader on an intimate historical journey through the public and personal lives of Hay…Worthy as the most comprehensive biography of Hay to date.” < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Library Journal - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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"John Hay has long been one of those remarkable American figures who hide in plain historical sight—until now. With insight and eloquence, John Taliaferro has brought Hay into the foreground, telling a remarkable story remarkably well." < b=""> Jon Meacham, author of < i=""> Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power <> <>
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"John Hay began his career as private secretary to Abraham Lincoln, writing many of Lincoln's letters, and ended it as secretary of state in the administrations of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, responsible for many of their foreign-policy achievements.
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andlt;divandgt;"John Hay began his career as private secretary to Abraham Lincoln, writing many of Lincoln's letters, and ended it as secretary of state in the administrations of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, responsible for many of their foreign-policy achievements.
Review
and#8220;John Hay began his career as private secretary to Abraham Lincoln, writing many of Lincoln's letters, and ended it as secretary of state in the administrations of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, responsible for many of their foreign-policy achievements. He was at the bedside of Lincoln and of McKinley as each president lay dying of an assassin's bullet. John Taliaferro's absorbing biography of this notable author, diplomat, and andlt;iandgt;bon vivantandlt;/iandgt; who knew most of the important people of his time fully measures up to the significance of its subject.and#8221;
Synopsis
From secretary to Abraham Lincoln to secretary of state for Theodore Roosevelt, John Hay remained a major figure in American history for more than half a century. His private life was as glamorous and romantic as it was privileged. This first full-scale biography since 1934 is a reflection of American history from the Civil War to the emergence of the nation as a world power as Woodrow Wilson is about to take office.Much of what we know about Lincoln’s years in the White House is drawn from the writings of the young John Hay, the president’s secretary, who was with Lincoln at the Gettysburg Address and at his bedside when he died.
Afterward, Hay successfully worked to elect fellow Ohioans James Garfield, Rutherford B. Hayes, and William McKinley for president. As McKinley’s Secretary of State, he plotted the nation’s emergence as a world power after the Spanish-American War. Hay arranged the annexation of the Philippines, the treaty for a canal across Panama, the Open Door policy for China.
After McKinley’s assassination, Theodore Roosevelt persuaded the aging Hay to stay on. The relationship between Hay and Roosevelt, which has not been explored, is of lasting interest. If Lincoln was a second father to Hay, Hay was a second father to TR—Roosevelt the bully wielder of the big stick; Hay the polished, urbane diplomat who walked softly, carried out TR’s policies, and helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Hay is one of the most pivotal figures in American public life. But, as Taliaferro writes, that is only half the story. He knew everybody from Mark Twain to Henry James, and every president and world leader. He was best friends with Henry Adams, and the two were in love with the same married woman, Lizzie Cameron, the Madame X of Washington Society. Both wrote her voluminous letters.
All the Great Prizes chronicles a life that reflects the story of America from the devastation of the Civil War to its emergence as a world leader and power.
About the Author
andlt;b andgt;John Taliaferroandlt;/bandgt; is the author of four books, most recently andlt;iandgt;In a Far Country: The True Story of a Mission, A Marriage, A Murder, and the Remarkable Reindeer Rescue of 1898andlt;/iandgt;. He is a former senior editor at andlt;iandgt;Newsweekandlt;/iandgt; and a graduate of Harvard University. He lives in Austin, Texas, and Pray, Montana.