Contact: James Carskadon
National bestselling author Ronald C. White is crediting Mississippi State University’s Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library for research assistance on his new biography of America’s 18th president.
In the book’s prologue and acknowledgments section, White credits the Grant Library’s collection and its staff with helping him find insights to Grant’s life that are not available anywhere else.
“I have discovered numerous resources about Grant’s life and times at the Grant Library that are neither online nor in the published volumes,” White wrote. “A visit to this gold mine of information is a must for any Grant enthusiast.”
“American Ulysses: A life of Ulysses S. Grant,” released Oct. 4, is White’s most recent major presidential biography. His 2009 biography of Abraham Lincoln was a New York Times bestseller. White spent seven years researching Grant for his new book, which included multiple trips to MSU’s Grant Presidential Library. Reviews of the new biography highlight White’s work as a comprehensive portrait of a president that has gained esteem among historians in recent years.
White also noted that the foundation of his 826-page biography is The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, a collection that is edited by MSU Professor Emeritus of History John Marszalek, who is also the executive director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association and Presidential Library. In addition to working with his staff to assist White’s research, Marszalek provided feedback during the writing process for White.
“I’ve been with Ronald several times when he’s been with other people and other historians and he’s talked about what a help this was and what a treasure the Grant Library is,” Marszalek said. “Like most of the people that have been here, he found things he never expected to find.”
In his book, White also acknowledges the help he received from MSU library associates Amanda Carlock and Meg Henderson, as well as Associate Professor Ryan P. Semmes.
For more information on the Grant Presidential Library, visit www.usgrantlibrary.org.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.