ABSTRACT
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is a government think tank, populated mostly by academics from all over the world. It is housed in the Reagan building, the second largest office building in Washington, after the Pentagon. Its neighbors include the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secret Service. The Wilson Center is the best place in the world to write a book. The Center has a good relationship with the Library of Congress, and a wonderful librarian. The Center had many strategies to encourage collegiality. Its government-subsidized cafeteria has only large round tables seating ten, so that one was always surrounded by other “scholars,” many from foreign lands working on subjects one knew absolutely nothing about. Lee Hamilton made a point of eating in the cafeteria almost every day, and flitting from table to table. Lee was very kind to him and arranged a public symposium when his work was completed.
