"John G. Nicolay, Lincoln's private secretary, was a German immigrant raised on the American frontier and first met Lincoln as a clerk in the Office of the Illinois State Secretary. Lincoln came to like Nicolay and eventually appointed him as secretary during his presidential campaign of 1860 and then as his private secretary in the White House. In the latter role, Nicolay would become a de facto White House chief of staff given the demands placed on Lincoln by the outbreak of the Civil War. Uniquely, the editors have interwoven Nicolay's correspondence throughout the manuscript, giving readers a privileged glimpse into Lincoln's presidency, his thoughts, and his foibles. They also discuss Nicolay's life after Lincoln's assassination, his relationship with John Hay, and the publication of their ten-volume biography of Lincoln"--