An obscure masterpiece until recently, Ingersoll LockwoodÕs fin de si�cle short story '1900; or, The Last President' was written in 1896 but uncannily describes the current political situation in America today. Indeed, many readers believe the author tapped into a mysterious force in the composition of his eerily clairvoyant tale. The futuristic fable outlines the rise of a populist president in Òthe fatal year of 1999,Ó and extrapolates what the consequences of electing such a seemingly popular Commander-in-Chief might be.