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

by Louis L. Picone

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.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2026

About the author

Louis L. Picone is the award-winning author of "Ulysses’s Odyssey: Ulysses S. Grant’s World Tour at the Dawn of American Empire", Grant's Tomb: The Epic Death of Ulysses S. Grant and the Making of an American Pantheon", and "The President Is Dead! The Extraordinary Stories of the Presidential Deaths, Final Days, Burials, and Beyond"

Louis is a Chairman of the Grover Cleveland Presidential Library & Museum at his birthplace in in Caldwell, NJ. He holds a Masters in History and also teaches at William Paterson University

Louis has spoken widely on the topic of the presidents and the places we commemorate them, including Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, Ulysses' Grant's Tomb, Grover Cleveland birthplace, and the international conference "U.S. Presidents and Russian Rulers" at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Louis has been featured on the BBC, NPR, Washington Post, C-SPAN & the Travel Channel

Reviews

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Ulysses’s Odyssey: Ulysses S. Grant’s World Tour at the Dawn of American Empire by Louis Picone
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One of my favorite Grant connoisseurs, Louis Picone, has outdone himself again! First with Grant’s Tomb and now with Ulysses’s Odyssey, Picone manages to add another deeply researched and highly entertaining piece to the Grant lexicon.

This book was the perfect palette cleanse from the usual Grant stories of civil war battles or presidential exploits and gave the reader exposure to a different side of Ulysses and Julia; as world travelers. The breadth of their post presidency travels is staggering at 20+ countries over the course of around 2.5 years abroad, meeting with countless international leaders and dignitaries from countries such as Britain, France, Germany, China, Japan, Siam, India, Burma, Egypt, Palestine, Norway and so many more!

I had no idea Grant was our most well traveled president even to this day! The book is filled with so many great anecdotes, comical quips, and astute observations that the reader gets a glimpse into the gilded age international scene and how eerily accurate some of Grant’s predictions are for many of these countries. We also get to see more of the wonderfully human side of Grant and how even in the peak of his fame he still maintains his humility and decency and his love for his wife Julia and his family.

As a self proclaimed U.S. Grant aficionado, I can safely mark this book with my stamp of approval, now go buy this book!

[Dalton Valette]

Louis Picone has done it again. His previous book focusing exclusively on Ulysses S. Grant (Grant’s Tomb) is the definitive account of one of the most impressive and discussed national memorials. Now, he turns his attention to an often overlooked but endlessly fascination portion of Grant’s life—his odyssey. It seemed fitting that a man whose name became Ulysses would someday embark on his own odyssey and Grant did just that. While there’s plenty of attention brought to other post-presidential works and travel (Theodore Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter), little has been made about Grant when, arguably, he set the model for post-presidential exploration, diplomacy, and authorship. Here, Picone chronicles Grant’s historic, Gilded Age world tour. From Vesuvius to Yokohama, Grant became one of the most traveled Americans up to that point in time, exploring Europe, Africa, and Asia from 1877-1879. Picone chronicles it all and you as a reader can’t help feeling swept up in this journey. This will likely stand alongside Candice Millard’s The River of Doubt as one of the most exciting post-presidential reads out there. So before checking out Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey this summer, be sure to check out Louis Picone’s Ulysses.