“John Hay’s sharp eye, facile pen, and luminous wit made him an impressive correspondent at any period of his life but especially so when he lived intimately in President Abraham Lincoln’s White House. Every scrap of Hay’s writing during the Civil War, whether unbuttoned or official, is invaluable to understanding a tumultuous period, which Hay observed from its very center.”—John Y. Simon, editor, The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant