Once the South was beaten, Eastern and Western troops of the Union army resented each other so violently that some feared for the survival of the victorious government. Then the tension disappeared in one happy stroke that gave the United States its grandest pageant - and General William Tecumseh Sherman the proudest moment of his life. Here, in this short-form book by New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming, is the little-told story 1865's Grand Review.

The most famous collision in American Navy history took place on a hot, starless, moonless night in 1943. PT109 was idling off the South Pacific island of Kolombangara. With virtually no warning, a Japanese destroyer smashed into the boat, slicing it in half and igniting its thousands of gallons of gasoline. PT109's commander and surviving crew were flung or leaped into the blazing water, beginning an ordeal that writers, relatives, and friends would use to create a drama that propelled Jo...

Defeated by Americans at Saratoga, British General John Burgoyne's troops faced nearly five years of enforced exile in a hostile countryside. Here, in this short-form book by New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming, is the dramatic story of Burgoyne and his wandering soldiers.

"I have not sought or desired this new ministry," Pope John XXIII once wrote. For Matthew Mahan, the knowledge that he could say the same made his selection by John's successor as one of five new American Cardinals the ultimate triumph in a life dedicated to the Catholic Church. But that triumph soon becomes painfully hollow in this moving novel. A born politician, Mahan rose in the Church with unquestioning belief in its doctrines. But the Vatican Council made him begin to doubt his faith...

In Verdicts of History, New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming highlights six courtroom dramas that changed the future of America. From unexpected verdicts, like the acquittal won by John Adams when he defended British soldiers charged with the Boston Massacre in 1770 to stirred passions when abolitionist John Brown was convicted of murder - a precedent to the Civil War - to the breakthrough in racial relations when Clarence Darrow won a stunning "not guilty" verdict for black...

The acclaimed historian presents a "captivating account of a surprisingly little-known period" at the close of the American Revolution ( Kirkus, starred review).On October 19, 1781, Great Britain's best army surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown. But the future of the thirteen former colonies was far from clear. 13,000 British troops still occupied New York City, and another 13,000 regulars and armed loyalists were scattered from Canada to Ge...

A son comes of age in a fiercely political world"Thomas Fleming gives us an unforgettable story about an immigrant family-his family-as it struggles to find a place in the American century. He shares with us the dreams and heartaches of his parents, and, in the end, he reminds us of the mysterious and forgiving power of love."-Terry Golway, author of The Irish in America"A truly moving story of a lifelong duel between father and son, Mysteries of My Father also vibra...

Here, from New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Thomas Fleming, is the seldom-told account of President Franklin D. Roosevelts policy toward the Axis powers during World War II. Driven by his dislike of the German people, the president, with encouragement from his Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., insisted on a strategy that settled for nothing less than unconditional surrender. That strategy not only prolonged the war but cost hundreds of thousands, if not mill...

Here, from New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming, is the dramatic story of the Boston Massacre and the subsequent trial of nine British soldiers for murder. Never before in the history of the American colonies, writes Fleming, had a trial aroused such intense, complex, political and personal passion. And into this maelstrom stepped John Adams, waging a mighty defense of the British soldiers despite the risk to his law practice and the possible violence against his wife and yo...

New York Times bestselling historian Thomas Fleming brings his extraordinary biographical talents to bear upon Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the least understood of America's revolutionary giants. For this reappraisal, Fleming concentrates on the mature Franklin, the man who lived nearly thirty years beyond the point where he ended his famous Autobiography. The poor boy, the miserly young printer, has become a decidedly more complex and cultured man. In scene after vivid scene, Fleming shows ...

"Thomas Fleming is one of my favorite writers because he combines powerful storytelling with the skills of a superb historian." - John Jakes. In his usual fashion, Thomas Fleming intricately weaves fact and fiction, bringing to life this dramatic period of American history. Although most people know the main facts and major players of the Revolutionary War, Fleming incorporates the minor stories and unknown details of colonial life through the fictional adventures of Louisa Bellamy and Den...

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette - American Revolutionary War hero, toast of liberal Europe, and a founder of modern France - started his illustrious life as a shy, clumsy, if aristocratic, country bumpkin. Here, in this essay from New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Thomas Fleming, is Lafayette's surprising - and inspiring - story.