Salmon P. Chase: A Biography

John Niven is Professor Emeritus of American History at Claremont Graduate School and is editor of the papers of Salmon P. Chase. His many books include Gideon Welles, Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy, Martin Van Buren and the Romantic Era of American Politics, and John C. Calhoun and the Price of Union: A Biography.

a balanced view of chase...a vivid sketch of one who moved through 'turbulent years as a majestic figure with an air of conscious superiority that many found repellent'...Niven's scholarship is impeccable. His writing is deft....presents a fascinating case study of the relationship between personal ambition and social progress.