This volume is a collection of ideas stated over a lifetime of service as administrator, diplomat, president, and Chief Justice. It singles out, from the total of Taft's writings and addresses, the essence of his convictions regarding government, diplomacy, and the law. Readers will find the ideas and beliefs of Taft as he dealt with a plethora of issues, principles, and judgments, a treasure of public wisdom satisfying in itself and yet stimulating to the point of prompting further investigation of Taft's public mind and personal convictions. In this undertaking there are three separate categories: political analyses, diplomatic explorations, and judicial deliberations woven into a pattern of a philosophy of government.