On this episode of Our American Stories, Christopher Klein tells the story of how our 18th President and Civil War hero, aided by Mark Twain, raced to complete a literary masterpiece that saved his wife from destitution. Hoat Hoang shares the story of his family fleeing Vietnam after Saigon fell to the communists' troops, and how it helped him become an American surgeon. Legendary baseball player, Buck O'Neil, was rejected for 15 years before making it into the Hall of Fame. You'll hear the story of how he handled that defeat and ultimately became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

Time Codes:

00:00 - The Literary Masterpiece That Saved Ulysses S. Grant's Family

10:00 - The American Surgeon Who Escaped the Viet Cong

35:00 - Buck O'Neil's 15 Years of Rejection Before the Hall of Fame