Books in History's Greatest Defeats series

General Ulysses S. Grant led the North's Union army to victory, but Confederate general Robert E. Lee proved time and again he was a brilliant military strategist. Readers may be surprised at what they don't know about these two historic American Civil War leaders. For example, Lee was offered command of the Union armies, and Grant was once thought not fit for military duty at all. Readers will review battles that decided the conflict and consider the heavy toll of the deadly war. Vivid paintings, photographs, and illustrations bring this time period to life, while interesting quotations offer primary-source recollections of the topic, an essential part of the elementary social studies and history curriculum.

It may be surprising to even history buffs that Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were at odds for years after the American Revolution. Each held tightly to their opposing views of how the new nation should be governed. This absorbing text not only reviews many important benchmarks of American historysuch as the writing of the US Constitution and the establishment of political partiesit also provides well-rounded analyses of these two powerful men, their relationship, and their eventual reconciliation. Their prolific writings provide many significant quotations throughout this valuable and insightful volume.