A biography of Edward M. House, a patient, crafty, and sometimes cynical political infighter who would become Woodrow Wilson's closest foreign policy adviser.

• PROLOGUE: A Great Adventure


• PART I. THE TEXAS YEARS, 1858-1912


• 1. A Spacious Youth.


• 2. Search For A Career.


• 3. The Challenge Of Texas Politics.


• 4. The "Twilight Years. "


• 5. "The Man And The Opportunity. "


• 6. The Ideal Society.


• PART II. WILSON IN POWER, 1913-1914


• 7. The Making of Wilson's Cabinet


• 8. Foreign Horizons.


• 9. The New Freedom.


• 10. Reform and Intervention.


• 11. "The Great Adventure. "


• PART III. THE GREAT WAR, 1914-1917


• 12. America And World War I.


• 13. The Search For Peace.


• 14. London, Berlin, Paris.


• 15. Return To London.


• 16. American Interlude.


• 17. The Lure Of Peace.


• 18. The House-Grey Memorandum.


• 19. The Failure Of Peace.


• 20. Presidential Politics.


• 21. Re-election And The Plea For Peace.


• 22. America Goes To War.


• PART IV. AMERICA AT WAR, 1917-1918


• 23. America Prepares For War.


• 24. The Strains Of Coalition Warfare.


• 25. Envoy To The Allies.


• 26. Crises At Home And Abroad.


• 27. The Turning Point.


• 28. The End Of The War.


• PART V. PEACEMAKING, 1919-1920


• 29. Waiting for the Peace Conference.


• 30. The Peace Conference, I.


• 31. The Peace Conference, II.


• 32. The Fight For The League.


• PART VI. ELDER STATESMAN, 1921-1938


• 33. The End Of The Wilson Era.


• 34. New Beginnings.


• 35. Marking Time.


• 36. Victory At Last.


• 37. The Crisis Of The 1930s.


• EPILOGUE: Crossing the River.

Charles E. Neu is Professor Emeritus of History at Brown University. He is the author of many books, including America's Lost War: Vietnam, 1945-1975.