I realize that I have not posted an update on William Howard Taft in a while. I am now writing chapters of the Taft book, about to put pen to paper on 1915. I am in the “Yale years,” the years between the White House and the Supreme Court, filled with interesting episodes, such as…

For nine years, from 1892 through 1900, William Howard Taft was a senior federal judge, based in Cincinnati, handling both trials and appeals, for the Sixth Circuit, which then as now was composed of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. During this period, Judge Taft drafted and published more than three hundred opinions that were reported…

I have agreed with Simon & Schuster on my next book: a biography of William Howard Taft. He is like my other subjects in that he was an American leader and lawyer, somewhat overlooked. He is unlike my other subjects in that he was president, something Seward and Chase wanted but never achieved. Here is…