Topic: Ulysses S. Grant

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15 best nonfiction books of 2011: CSMonitor picks

15 bests nonfiction titles of 2011, according to the Monitor's reviewers
In Pictures: Presidential transport
In Pictures: Famous beards
In Pictures: Snowmageddon

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A Disposition to Be Rich

The author's great-grandfather was the Bernie Madoff of his age – a Ponzi schemer and con man who cheated a US president and kidnapped his own son.
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.
Eisenhower in War and Peace

Jean Edward's Smith's new biography obliterates earlier arguments that Eisenhower’s was a dull, torpid presidency.
15 best nonfiction books of 2011: CSMonitor picks

15 bests nonfiction titles of 2011, according to the Monitor's reviewers
Chapter & Verse
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. 
Chapter & Verse
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.
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Candice Millard’s account of President James Garfield’s assassination brings back to roaring life a tragic but irresistible historical period.
Chapter & Verse
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.
In Pictures: Presidential transport
A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War, by Amanda Foreman

It's called the American Civil War, but it was much more British than most people think.
US Mint to issue $1 Grant coin. Meh. His spouse's coin? Wow!

US Mint's series of $1 presidential coins have lost value with the dollar's slide. But the US Mint's presidential spouse coins, made of gold, have doubled in value.
The war that made us 'we'

150 years later, the Civil War's nature and impact may finally be seen with clear eyes.
On its 150th anniversary, US Civil War matters more than ever

The conflict between North and South stands as one of the only civil wars in human history that did not end in monarchy or dictatorship. Its lessons hold enduring value for the modern struggle to defend liberal democratic principles without compromising them in times of existential crisis.
Special interests aim to pile onto tax-cut deal, to retain tax credits

Wind power firms, makers of energy-efficient windows, duck hunters, and other special interests are pushing Congress to save – or shelve – some 83 expiring tax credits.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain

It’s worth wading through this massive tome to mine its nuggets of unalloyed Twain.
In Pictures: Famous beards
McChrystal: What would Eisenhower have done?

Before President Obama ousted General McChrystal, he should have considered how Ike dealt with an incident involving legendary General George Patton during World War II.
Josh Brolin and John Malkovich star in 'Jonah Hex': movie review

Josh Brolin plays the post-Civil War bounty hunter Jonah Hex.
Memorial Day 2010: Don't let the USS Olympia sink from memory

Failing to repair and keep afloat the USS Olympia, a heroic ship of the Spanish-American War, would say a lot about America’s priorities.
Perversely in praise of the passive voice

Yes, it's wordy, weaselly, and wimpy – but sometimes useful, the Monitor's language columnist finds.
The Last Stand

Gen. George Custer for US president? Not if Ulysses S. Grant could help it.
Reagan on the $50? Probably not.

However, President Reagan will likely appear on the presidential $1 coin in 2016.
In Pictures: Snowmageddon
Memoir: A History

What is a memoir – and when and why did we go so crazy for the genre?