(3) YA Miller explores Lee's life and times in this accessible and thorough biography for middle- and high-school students. Moving beyond the myths (both positive and negative) associated with Lee, Miller examines and unpacks his complicated and tumultuous family history and fills in details about his life before and after the Civil War. Black-and-white archival images help provide a sense of time and place. Timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA Civil War Leaders series. These four biographies recount the lives and accomplishments of two Confederate and two Union generals. Each gives an account of the general's childhood, his early years, and his importance to the Civil War, including the significant battles fought. Archival photographs, drawings, and maps illuminate the well-written texts. Timeline, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Civil War Leaders titles: There He Stands, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and Victory in Destruction.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 American War Biographies series. Three Revolutionary war heroes (one turned traitor) and three Civil War figures are featured in these generally well-written, though repetitive, biographies. Timelines are featured in each copiously illustrated chapter, and sidebars cover such related topics as prisoners of war and other important persons. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these American War Biographies titles: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen, and John Paul Jones.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 On My Own History series. Illustrated by Jeni Reeves. The surrender of General Lee to General Grant is told through the eyes of eleven-year-old Willie McLean--in whose Virginia house the surrender papers were signed. This easy-to-read fictionalized account is supplemented with historical information in the author's note and afterword. The illustrations do little to enhance the lackluster text. Bib.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Famous Figures of the Civil War Era series. Illustrated with period reproductions, these biographies each accurately presents its subject's life, achieving in five or six chapters good balance about a sometimes controversial figure. Time lines and chronologies accompany the texts, whose styles vary from Lutz's fluidity to Grabowski's choppiness. The editorial decision to refer to the generals by first names is somewhat jarring. There are seven other books in this series. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) 4-6 Civil War series. This series offers readable, factually sound biographies of Civil War-era leaders. Small, gray sidebars pop up occasionally to link the biography to events in the lives of other famous Americans of the period, specifically those featured in other books of the series. Archival photos, engravings, and a few color portraits, without bibliographic citations, serve as illustrations. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Civil War titles: Frederick Douglass, John Brown, Andrew Johnson, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln.]

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang