Walter Stahr talked about Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man, his biography on William Seward, who he argued was one of the most important Americans of the 19th Century. He detailed Seward’s service as a progressive governor of New York and an outspoken U.S. senator before being chosen as Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of state and closest adviser. He spoke about the special relationship between the president and Seward, and observed that some detractors erroneously stated at the time that Seward was actually the power behind Lincoln’s presidency. Secretary Seward was severely wounded by other assassins the night President Lincoln was assassinated, but remained as secretary of state through President Andrew Johnson’s term. Mr. Stahr also talked about his own years as a practicing attorney and his decision to take up writing as a profession.