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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.
