JOHN M. TAYLOR is a past president of the Manuscript Society (1980-1982). From 1952 to 1987 he was employed by the U.S. Government, including four foreign postings with the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency. The author of seven books of biography and history, he is a frequent contributor to historical magazines and has written for the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. His most recent book, Confederate Raider: Raphael Semmes of the Alabama, was a 1995 selection of the History Book Club.

• Foreword by John D. Haskell A Meeting in Chicago Ford's Theatre and Other Capers "History in Your Hand" David and Goliath: The Lewis and Clark Case Growing Pains Expanding Horizons The Winds of Change "A Serengeti Watering Hole" The Harding Papers Triumph and Disaster The Book Some Challenges of the 1970s A New Constitution The Life Member New Fields The Society in the 1990s Word Shadows of the Great Appendix A: Presidents of the Manuscript Society Appendix B: Manuscript Society Policy on Replevin Appendix C: What Shall I Do With My Collection? Recommended Reading Index