She is most interested in Grant but she likes books about all parts of the war. I’m looking for stuff that is very recent so I know she hasn’t bought it yet. She has most of the volumes of the Grant Papers already but I’ll be checking for good prices on the ones she doesn’t have. Thank you for your help.
I can heartily recommend Kevin M. Levin's Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth (2019), an in-depth and impeccably researched book looking at one of the most enduring falsehoods perpetuated about the Civil War. Admittedly, it doesn't have much to do with Grant, but he is mentioned tangentially in a couple passages like:
On July 4 an entire Confederate army surrended at Vicksburg under the command of General John C. Pemberton, who requested that officers be allowed to "retain their private property," including "body servants." General Ulysses S. Grant permitted officers to keep their side arms, private baggage, and one horse but avoided a direct response regarding the status of slaves. Even without a clear statement by Grant, however, the presence of U.S. Colored Troops in Vicksburg encouraged former camp slaves and others to join the Union army and embrace the opportunity to fight their former masters. (53)
Is 2017 recent enough? If so, I recommend Grant by Ron Chernow. Exhaustive detail from before, during, and after the War.