​

​

John Reeves is the author of The Lost Indictment of Robert E. Lee, A Fire in the Wilderness: The First Battle Between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, and Soldier of Destiny: Slavery, Secession, and the Redemption of Ulysses S. Grant. He has been a teacher, editor, and writer for over twenty-five years. The Civil War, in particular, has been his passion since he first read Bruce Catton’s The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War as an elementary school student in the 1960s. John’s articles on Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant have been featured in The Washington Post and on the History News Network. 

Earlier in his career, he taught European and American history at various colleges in Chicago, the Bronx, and London. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in Economics from Syracuse University in 1984. Later, he received an MA in European History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and pursued a PhD in History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His dissertation was on Britain’s role in Persia in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries. 

​

Throughout his career, Reeves has tried to make history lively and accessible for students and general readers. Over the years, he has taught European and American history at Lehman College, Bronx Community College, and Southbank University in London. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two children.