Seward Lincoln's Indispensable Man (Hardcover)

From the Publisher: From one of our most acclaimed new biographers?the first full life of the leader of Lincoln's ?Team of Rivals? to appear in more than forty years.William Henry Seward was one of the most important Americans of the nineteenth century: progressive governor of New York, outspoken U.S. senator, odds-on favorite to win the 1860 Republican nomination for president, secretary of state and Lincoln's closest friend and advisor during the Civil War, target of assassins on the night Lincoln was killed, staunch supporter of President Andrew Johnson (Lincoln's unpopular successor), driving force behind ?Seward's Folly? (the purchase of Alaska from Russia), and the man who laid the groundwork for the acquisition of Hawaii and set America on course to becoming a world power.      Seward had a hand in so many policies that he became a controversial and at times polarizing figure. Some of Lincoln's critics even saw him, erroneously, as the power behind the throne, the man who controlled Lincoln. But Seward's most important role was in keeping Britain and France from recognizing the Confederacy as an independent nation, thereby contributing greatly to the Union's ultimate victory. Seward was also a fascinating person in his own right. Most nights this well-known raconteur with unruly hair and untidy clothes would gather diplomats, soldiers, politicians, and actors around his table to enjoy a cigar, a drink, and a good story.      Drawing on hundreds of sources long neglected by previous biographers, Seward sheds new light on this complex and central figure, as well as on pivotal events of the Civil War and its aftermath.