Editorial Review

This entry in the well-written ‘Our Presidents’ series provides an overview of Ulysses S. Grant’s life, early years in many locations and his role in the Civil War. A variety of photographs show his family, his wife and children, Grant’s relationship with Lincoln, and other aspects of his life. Grant’s struggles with scandal in his administration and his various civil rights attempts are also mentioned. Outtake pages include one about Grant’s wife Julia Dent and another about the fifteenth amendment giving black men the right to vote. Sidebars include interesting facts and picture captions are informative and lengthy enough to inform casual browsers. Each book in the series ends with a glossary defining highlighted words in the text, a timeline specific to the president’s life, a complete table of presidents through George W. Bush with their home states, life spans, presidential spans, political party and the name of their first ladies. Also included are a page of ‘Presidential Facts,’ numerous web sites and relevant suggested other resources, as well as an index. All in all, it’s a strong, informative and very readable contribution to the literature about presidents for upper elementary and middle school readers.