Shortly after George H. W. Bush lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton in 1989, John Robert Greene's verdict on the 41st president of the United States was that he "brought no discredit to the office" and "Bush was both patient and prudent. . . mak ing] few mistakes." In the years since the release of Greene's profile of the senior Bush, deemed by Publishers Weekly, "the essential introduction to Bush's abbreviated, but still consequential, tenure in office," a wealth of materials about Bush's presidency has become available, even as distance has sharpened our perspective on the Bush...

As controversial in politics as he was in the military, Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) was an embattled president, enormously popular with the American people, yet the target of unrelenting censure by political enemies. For the first time in almost a century, this book by the distinguished historian Charles W. Calhoun examines Grant's administration in depth, offering a fresh look at the 18th president's policies and actions during his two terms in office (1869-1877).

Most biographers focus on Grant's military career, giving less attention to the significant and complex questions that...