In this seminar biography, Charles E. Neu details the life of "Colonel" House, a Texas landowner who rose to become one of the century's greatest political operators. In 1911 House met Woodrow Wilson, and almost immediately the two formed one of the most famous friendships in American political history. As Wilson's friend and chief political adviser, House became a high-level political intermediary and, after the outbreak of World War I, he traveled frequently to Europe as the president's personal representative. The two men shared the same beliefs and aspirations; both wanted to find a way to place the U.S. at the center of a new world order. This long-anticipated biography explores the unusual partnership between the two men and restores the enigmatic counselor to his place at the center of the Wilson presidency.

Charles E. Neu received his B.A. from Northwestern University and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He was professor of history at Brown University from 1970 to 2003 and since 2004 has been adjunct professor of history at the University of Miami. He has written, co-edited, or edited the following books: An Uncertain Friendship: Theodore Roosevelt and Japan (1967); The Troubled Encounter: The United States and Japan (1975); The Wilson Era: Essays in Honor of Arthur S. Link (1991); After Vietnam: Legacies of a Lost War (2000); America's Lost War: Vietnam, 1945-1975 (2005); and Artists of Power: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Their Enduring Impact of U.S. Foreign Policy (2006). At Brown he chaired the Department of History for six years and in 1998 received the Barrett Hazeltine Citation for distinguished undergraduate teaching.

The Washington History Seminar is sponsored jointly by the National History Center of the American Historical Association and the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program. It meets weekly during the academic year. See www.wilsoncenter.org/collection/washington-history-seminar for the schedule, speakers, topics, and dates as well as webcasts and podcasts. The seminar thanks the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations for its support.