James Kirke Paulding is best remembered today as a collaborator with the youthful Washington Irving in the Salmagundi papers, collected as Salmagundi; or, the Whim-Whams and Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff and Others (1807-1808), but a steady stream of his own writings came before the American public for almost a half century afterward. During a long and active lifetime he won reputation as a defender of the United States and its institutions against attacks by the British and as a pioneer in portraying American scenes, characters, events, and folkways in literature. Paulding wrote in several genres--informal essay, verse satire, short story, novel, travel account, biography, and drama. An astute and vocal observer of the political scene, he was for many years a prominent civil servant, rising to the secretaryship of the navy under President Martin Van Buren. Although an ardent nationalist, in his later years he was somewhat out...