American Originals: The Private Worlds of Some Singular Men and Women

Prominent American men and women, whose accomplishments range from politics to poetry, are scrutinized in this intriguing, unorthodox collection of essays by award-winning historian Ward ( Before the Trumpet: Young Franklin Roosevelt ). He delights in pointing out little-known attributes and foibles of these folk, and the good or bad influences they have exerted on our lives. Lillian Hellman is placed in his ``Bad Men and Liars'' category, along with Roy Cohn, Alger Hiss and presidential assassins Booth and Oswald. Confederate General Lee's status as a national hero, Ward asserts, is due largely to his peacemaking role, which brought his soldiers back into the Union. FDR, descended from a China opium trader, is described here as a passionate ornithologist whose pack-rat habits led to the establishment of his presidential library at Hyde Park, N.Y. (Sept.)