Ulysses’s Odyssey: Ulysses S. Grant’s World Tour at the Dawn of American Empire

Click HERE to read the front matter and Chapter 1!

eBook coming soon!

Ulysses’s Odyssey is a triumph of research, drawing upon the extensive Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, accounts of fellow travelers, letters, diaries, historic newspapers, and many more sources. Picone reveals Grant’s personality, core decency, and sense of humor, and also explores the trip’s significance at the time and how it subsequently faded from public memory. Whether interested in American presidents, the Gilded Age, foreign policy, or an epic travel adventure, you’ll want to read Ulysses’s Odyssey.

In May 1877, Ulysses S. Grant, newly departed from two terms in the White House, embarked on an extraordinary three-year journey that defined a pivotal moment in the Gilded Age. Driven by a lifelong passion for travel and unburdened by a fixed itinerary, Grant set out to explore the world, his wanderlust sustained by modest means. Louis L. Picone’s Ulysses’s Odyssey: Ulysses S. Grant’s World Tour at the Dawn of American Empire masterfully chronicles this unprecedented adventure, illuminating its historical significance and Grant’s enduring legacy.

Grant’s odyssey spanned continents, from Europe’s capitals to uncharted destinations for an American president, including Egypt, the Holy Land, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, India, Siam, Saigon, China, and Japan. Welcomed by throngs and honored by monarchs—kings, queens, emperors, and heads of state—Grant immersed himself in local cultures. He scaled Mount Vesuvius, sailed the Nile, rode elephants in India, and strolled the streets of Sicily, where he was cautioned about the mafia. Throughout, his curiosity and humility shone, revealing the man behind the myth.

In September 1879, thousands greeted Grant’s return at San Francisco’s wharf, heralding him as a national hero. His journey continued across the United States via the Transcontinental Railroad, culminating in Philadelphia’s grandest reception, where his global voyage was celebrated with unparalleled fervor. His travels were not yet over. Weeks later he ventured south to Cuba, Mexico, and the Southern states, where former Confederate soldiers and the formerly enslaved alike cheered his presence. Returning to Illinois just before the 1880 Republican convention, Grant entered the presidential race for a third time, his global perspective newly sharpened. Contemporaries marveled, declaring, “Nothing like this has ever been seen before in history!”

Louis Picone unearths Ulysses S. Grant’s forgotten world tour, a journey that shaped America’s rise as a global power. Drawing on Grant’s personal papers, letters, diaries, and period newspapers, this meticulously researched narrative weaves adventure and diplomacy into a vibrant portrait of the Gilded Age. With sweeping prose, Ulysses’s Odyssey captivates history buffs and adventure enthusiasts alike, offering fresh insights into Grant’s legacy and the dawn of American empire. Essential reading, this grand tale restores a pivotal chapter to its rightful place in history.

Advance Praise

“Ulysses’s Odyssey goes a long way in establishing the role of Grant as one of the most famous and influential men of his age. From elephant rides to 40-year-old eggs, and from the pyramids to the Taj Mahal, it’s a one-of-a-kind adventurous journey that helps to more fully understand the boy from Ohio with a powerful case of wanderlust.” — Ben Kemp, Operations Manager, U. S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site

“Ulysses’s Odyssey is a captivating account of Ulysses S. Grant’s unprecedented world tour. Louis L. Picone carries readers around the globe alongside Grant, offering fascinating insights into this important, but often forgotten, chapter of Grant’s public career. It is a volume that will be enjoyed by historians and casual readers, alike.” — Dr. Anne E. Marshall, Executive Director, Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, and author of Cassius Marcellus Clay: The Life of an Antislavery Slaveholder and the Paradox of American Reform

“In recent years, Ulysses S. Grant’s trip around the world has begun to receive greater attention from scholars. Now Louis L. Picone offers us a deeply researched account of Grant as a traveler, recipient of honors, and erstwhile diplomat, all the while crafting a wonderful portrait of Grant, his wife Julia, and other family members and associates as they traveled hither and yon. Grant proved a careful observer of all he encountered: the experience left him far more discerning about global affairs and future developments. A must read for anyone interested in the life and times of the eighteenth president.” — Brooks D. Simpson, author of Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph over Adversity, 1822–1865

“A forgotten piece of presidential history that compellingly combines narrative history and travelogue.” — Troy Senik, author of A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland

“Talk about a road trip! Meticulously researched and deeply fascinating, Ulysses’s Odyssey re-traces Grant’s travels from England to Japan, taking readers along for a rollicking trip to vanished kingdoms.” — Matthew Algeo, author of Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip

“A highly readable work of scholarship on Ulysses S. Grant’s world tour and the political and diplomatic ramifications of the former president’s high-profile voyage. Picone shows Grant to be both a wide-eyed tourist suffering from wanderlust, as well as a shrewd statesman who understood the importance of his trip to the United States’ standing in the world. No work on Grant’s world tour has linked the international and domestic importance of Grant’s voyage as well as Picone’s Ulysses’s Odyssey.” — Ryan P. Semmes, Professor and Director of Research, Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, and author of Exporting Reconstruction: Ulysses S. Grant and a New Empire of Liberty