(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

In a dual biography covering the last ten years of the lives of friends and contemporaries, writer Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) and statesman John Hay (who served as secretary of state under presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt), The Statesman and the Storyteller not only provides an intimate look into the daily lives of these men but also creates an elucidating portrait of the United States on the verge of emerging as a world power.
And just as the narrative details the wisdom, and the occasional missteps, of two great men during a tumultuous time, it also penetrates the seat of power in Washington as the nation strove to make itself known internationally--and in the process committed acts antithetical to America’s professed ideals and promises.
The country’s most significant move in this time was to go to war with Spain and to eventually wrest control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. In what has to be viewed as one of the most shameful periods in American political history, Filipinos who believed they had been promised independence were instead told they were incapable of self-government and then violently subdued in a war that featured torture and execution of native soldiers and civilians. The United States also used its growing military and political might to grab the entirety of the Hawaiian Islands and a large section of Panama.
As secretary of state during this time, Hay, though a charitable man, was nonetheless complicit in these misdeeds. Clemens, a staunch critic of his country’s imperialistic actions, was forced by his own financial and family needs to temper his remarks. Nearing the end of their long and remarkable lives, both men found themselves struggling to maintain their personal integrity while remaining celebrated and esteemed public figures.

Big book - little surprise...this is, effectively, two biographies of two very influential people of their time. Mark Twain and John Hay. That alone is reason enough for 600+ pages...but when you consider their backgrounds, their friendship and their seemingly opposing viewpoints on America's emergence on the world stage as an imperial force - that makes it a sensational story.

Driven by immaculate research, I was drawn deeply (and quickly) into the childhoods of these two Missouri men and the connections they made as kids. The one thing that I really liked was the way the biographies differed from each other - Hay's covers more of the political machinations of the time (and his place in that), where Twain's was more of a personal biography. That certainly gave the feeling to the reader of two distinct stories.

As others have said, I think the title was misleading - the fact that these two didn't talk for more than 20 years certainly doesn't lend itself to the belief that these two were ever involved together in this period of Imperialism. The connection was strenuous at best...

However, putting that aside, I still think that his was a very well-worthy read and something I have no trouble recommending for the historical aspect, if nothing else.


Paul
ARH

This book compellingly tells of the lives of two famous men and the larger imperialistic actions of the day. It is an interesting history book that I think my older students would enjoy.

MARK ZWONITZER. The Statesman and the Storyteller: John Hay, Mark Twain, and the Rise of American Imperialism. Algonquin. Hardcover, 608 pages, $35, Algonquin.com.
John Hay served under and advised presidents Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, and he knew Samuel Clemens, alias Mark Twain. So why not write a dual biography of Hay and Clemens set during the 1890s and into the early 1900s when their acquaintanceship (friendship might be a stretch) was strained over the U.S. war in the Philippines? The connection between Hay and Clemens never jells, and while the research and stories are first rate, the story is too disjointed to succeed. Still, it’s an interesting look at America’s dalliance with imperialism, and, well, there can never be too much written about Mark Twain.
– Johnny D. Boggs
Published in Roundup Magazine, April 2017, in Nonfiction Book Reviews, Western Writers of America, www.WesternWriters.org