Reviews for The Life and Letters of John Hay, Vol. 1

The average rating for The Life and Letters of John Hay, Vol. 1 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-06-18 00:00:00 Robert H Blakesley I was a little taken aback, I thought this was going to be entirely diary entries and correspondence of John Hay, personal secretary to Lincoln during the Civil War, and Secretary of State under McKinley and Roosevelt. This books is a biography that must be taken with a grain of salt for it's early twentieth century take on the politics of the time. Thayer has an interesting take on the state of Democracy after the Civil War in regards to capital and labor. In volume I The Breadwinners, isn't even mentioned in this regard, Thayer however liked to use the term in regards to Hay trying to make money throughout his life. Also with this publication coming out in 1915 it is an interesting take as Europe rages in war, while America is taking shape under Wilson's first term. Letting the author's elitist views be put aside, with all the Hay books I've read, Thayer does utilize whole letters written by John Hay, many of his diary entries as secretary during the Civil War and as a diplomat in Paris, Vienna, and Madrid during his career overseas and a decent amount of interchange with Whitelaw Reid, when he was editor, and Hay a journalist, with the New York Tribune. For these entries, this long forgotten work, in comparison to the Pulitzer Prize winning early biography on Hay John Hay: From Poetry to Politics, makes this a must read for understanding one of the most unique figures behind the presidency and a person who helped lead America into the 20th century.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-12-31 00:00:00 Kirk Moyer The author left Iraq for fear of his life when Suddam Hussian was in power. Years later (25) after the fall of Suddam. He appears to be honest as to his feelings and accounters.. He gives first-hand accounts of the looting of Baghdad, the destruction of government buildings, and indiscriminate bombings .