1589 Hamilton Fish: The Inner History of the Grant Administration, by Allan Nevins (read 10 Oct 1980) (Pulitzer Biography prize for 1937) This good book tells the story of Hamilton Fish, who was born in lower Manhattan on Aug 3, 1808, and died Sept 7, 1893, at his summer home at Glenclyffe on the Hudson. He was U.S. Senator, Governor, and Grant's only Secretary of State. It is an interesting book and I now know more about the Alabama Claims than I ever expected to; also the San Domingo Treaty, and other things of which I had little knowledge--and not too much curiosity--before. Nevins lets his opinions show through blatantly--most noticeably when he characterizes something and then quotes the actual letter or document. His footnoting is the most haphazard I've ever seen in a serious work. (E.g., he has a footnote: "Congressional Globe" without a year--much less a page!) In his summation he says Fish kept us from acquiring Canada--and approves. I think it would be great if Canada were part of the U.S. We would really be a great country then. ( )