Henry Villard gained fame--or fortunes--in three careers: war correspondent, railroad financier, and newspaper publisher. Villard arrived in the United States as a penniless German-speaking immigrant of eighteen. Disdainful of life in "little Germanies," Villard was determined to learn a new tongue and a new way of life. Rapid assimilation brought him within a few years to a post as a highly paid Washington reporter well known to the president. By the time he reached middle age, Villard had become a millionaire business leader on the strengths of shrewdness, resourcefulness, and a remarkable talent for getting close to persons of influence.

Villard first achieved journalistic notice for his reporting of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Shortly thereafter, a series of "scoops" from the battlefields of the Civil War established him as one of the best and best known of some 500 "specials" who reported the war for Northern newspapers. After the war...