Topic: Robert E. Lee

How astronomy solved a Civil War mystery

Why did Confederate troops shoot their own general, 'Stonewall' Jackson? The position of the moon played a big role, an astronomer discovers.

'Accidental Racist': Brad Paisley and LL Cool J draw ire

'Accidental Racist' puts racial dialogue under a microscope, drawing criticism for its collaborators: country singer Brad Paisley and rapper LL Cool J.

'Shiloh 1862' and 'The Long Road to Antietam'

Writer Winston Groom illuminates the personal side of a battle in 'Shiloh,' while Richard Slotkin's 'Antietam' is an eye-opening view of an engagement and a war.

Chapter & Verse Lincoln's close call with electoral defeat

'Decided on the Battlefield' by David Alan Johnson tells how Abraham Lincoln nearly lost it all.

Bill O'Reilly's 'Killing Lincoln' continues to stir controversy

Citing errors, some Lincoln-related historic sites are refusing to carry the book, although O'Reilly accuses critics of nitpicking. 

Bill O'Reilly's "Killing Lincoln" is "Lincoln Lite"

Bill O'Reilly's thriller, "Killing Lincoln," gives us a Lincoln cleansed of all controversy and complexity.

Grant’s Final Victory

Charles Bracelen Flood offers a fascinating coda to a remarkable life in this brisk, well-told history of the final months and days of Ulysses S. Grant.

The one truly great – and truly humble – presidential memoir

Ulysses S. Grant may not be remembered as our best president, but his memoir is often cited as the best of all presidential writings.

Michele Bachmann: What do her favorite books tell us?

A list of Michele Bachmann's favorite books includes one that "startles" an interviewer.

Top 5 conservative holidays

Commemorating a day to call attention to a political cause has long been a tactic of liberals and those further out on the left. For instance, there's Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day, Earth Day, Gay Pride Day, May Day, and so on. Conservatives, by contrast, have largely stuck to fighting battles over the "true meaning" of traditional holidays observed by people of all political stripes, such as Christmas, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July. Still, conservatives have tried to come up with holidays to tout, with varying degrees of success. Here are our top five:

Fort Sumter cannons sound again: the Civil War 150 years later

Fort Sumter marked the start of the Civil War, with Confederates shelling it on April 12, 1861. Today, the cannon rolls still reverberate in a country that remains at peace, but torn by ideological divides.

KKK leader on specialty license plates? Plan in Mississippi raises hackles.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans want to honor Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general who subsequently joined the Ku Klux Klan, on some Mississippi license plates in 2014.

Reader recommendation: The Lees of Virginia

Monitor readers share their favorite book picks.

Home sales down. But six cities defy housing gloom.

Home sales plunged in July and housing prices may dip again. But in six metropolitan areas, the housing picture is far brighter: Home values are rising and median prices are already well ahead of their peak during the housing bubble. What allowed these metro areas to beat the downturn in home sales prices? Two are state capitols. Five have lower-than-average unemployment. All of them had undervalued real estate, even at the height of the housing boom, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). When mortgage rates fell, "they had room to grow" and home sales rose. Is your city on the list? Click on the right arrow to see each metro area:

Letters to the Editor – Weekly Issue of July 19, 2010

Readers write in about the US Civil War and Africa's agricultural promise.

July 4 is important -- but so is July 3

Two events on July 3, 1863 matter as much to human rights as July 4, 1776.

Opinion: McDonnell Confederate history storm: slavery, treason, and true Southern courage

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s controversial proclamation of Confederate History Month should help us remember the South’s rebellion for what it really was.

Slavery vs. Confederate History Month: ripe for political point-scoring

After restoring Confederate History Month in Virginia, Gov. Bob McDonnell amended his proclamation to decry slavery. Both the left and the right have used the occasion to score political points, sometimes twisting the historical record to their own ends.

Civil War Wives

The lives of three prominent Civil War-era women illustrate the drama that took place off the battlefield.

Reflections on Arlington Cemetery – Sen. Kennedy’s final resting place

Presidents, generals, and Supreme Court justices are there. But mostly, it's ordinary servicemen and women who served their country without public acclaim.

Food prices ease, but thriftier shopping habits remain

The slow economy has sustained a trend to home-cooked comfort food.

The Obama family on the move

Verbal energy: Surrogates and other placeholders

We know candidates can't be everywhere at once, but we could use a better term for their stand-ins on the campaign trail.

In US, historical revision challenges memorials to South's heroes

Recent moves seek to modify statues and plaques to reflect racist past.