The #1 New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2017“Eminently readable but thick with import . . . Grant hits like a Mack truck of knowledge.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates, The AtlanticPulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant. Ulysses S. Grant’s life has … compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant.
Ulysses S. Grant’s life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman, or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don’t come close to capturing him, as Chernow shows in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.
Before the Civil War, Grant was flailing. His business ventures had ended dismally, and despite distinguished service in the Mexican War he ended up resigning from the army in disgrace amid recurring accusations of drunkenness. But in war, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign, and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Along the way, Grant endeared himself to President Lincoln and became his most trusted general and the strategic genius of the war effort. Grant’s military fame translated into a two-term presidency, but one plagued by corruption scandals involving his closest staff members.
More important, he sought freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race.” After his presidency, he was again brought low by a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, only to resuscitate his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre.
With lucidity, breadth, and meticulousness, Chernow finds the threads that bind these disparate stories together, shedding new light on the man whom Walt Whitman described as “nothing heroic… and yet the greatest hero.” Chernow’s probing portrait of Grant’s lifelong struggle with alcoholism transforms our understanding of the man at the deepest level. This is America’s greatest biographer, bringing movingly to life one of our finest but most underappreciated presidents. The definitive biography, Grant is a grand synthesis of painstaking research and literary brilliance that makes sense of all sides of Grant’s life, explaining how this simple Midwesterner could at once be so ordinary and so extraordinary.
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Gives an in depth view of the Civil War in regard to personalities. Shows how Grant rose from the ashes of personal failure to the savior of the Union. Also loved the tidbits about how Julia Grant loathed Mary Todd Lincoln.
I’ve read a lot about the CW and his autobiography so I knew his early life and the CW but didn’t know much about his post CW and presidential years. It does a good job there. Also spends a lot of time discussing how his personal relationships shaped events throughout his life.
The best biography done on Grant. It’s a big book but it’s well-worth reading. Also very good on audio, though a lot of discs. Highly recommend!
The book starts with Grant’s life before he joined the Union Army, detailing Grant’s numerous failures in business and his disposition toward a simple life (but one that’s complicated by his drive to succeed in various business ventures). Grant’s ability to think two steps ahead was crucial to winning the Civil War, though he never quite kept that mindset in other avenues of his life. As a result, this presidency was plagued with problems that overshadowed some tremendous successes. This book is written beautifully … don’t be intimidated by the page count! It moves fast.
What a great book, I knew of Grant from my high school history classes but never knew the man until this book. You realize how smart and flawed he was, yet he managed to be successful and have a great family. Really enjoyed reading this book.
I borrowed this book from my nephew. Never read a book this long and didn’t think I’d get through it. It was interesting book and the page turner I didn’t expect. Didn’t read anything for a month after reading this because I was so wrapped up in it, it was hard to start anything else
Remarkably researched and, while chronologically organized, offers detailed and insightful descriptions of the principal characters in President Grant’s Life/Career.
Every bit as engaging as Hamilton. Alcoholism, which has followed Grant since Western Point, and while true he is far from a drunkard. One drink for Grant was too much evidently.
At the time of battle he was always ready. Poor family life and a very gullible person. Only truly at home on a war where things slowed down for him.
It took some time to get through this tome but it was well worth it. While the military exploits are well known, I had always heard the bad but never the good of his presidency
A great read
I enjoyed this account of President and General Grant’s life. He is little heralded or remembered but made great contributions to our nation. Schools should incorporate this volume into American History courses, and lovers of history will find it absorbing!
I loved-loved-loved this historical piece on Ulysses S. Grant. It’s an in-depth look into his life, from childhood, through his early adult years when he suffered failure after failure, a peek into his struggle with alcoholism (which he mostly overcome through help of his wife and other good friends), his career in the military (from the war in Mexico to the Civil War), to his political career and setbacks in later life. It was so well-written. I was mesmerized and caught up in the story to the point where I would gasp or shake my head, or groan, laugh, or mutter comments as I listened in my car. Yes, I was one of those people who are talking to myself in the car. But if you listened with me, you would be talking or laughing to yourself as well.
I couldn’t put this book down.
I learned a great deal about Grant and the times—-fascinating. An excellent book.
Wow. This book was truly incredible. It was so long that I feel like Grant is my friend now, and I miss him! An amazing portrait of a great man. Grant, as portrayed by Chernow, was such a humble, likable, good person. His biggest flaw was that he was too trusting, and this was the reason that his presidency was embroiled in scandal, even though he himself was involved in none of it. He believed the best of everyone, to a fault. His early life was very unassuming, and it’s rather stunning that he went from obscurity and poverty to being the most famous man in the country for a season. I really enjoyed watching how a guy like him handled his sudden fame. He wore it so well.
I also really loved the portrayal of his relationship with Lincoln, even though of course that necessarily ended about halfway through the book. They had a genuine friendship, and Lincoln too had such a heart of gold. The scenes of his funeral moved me to tears.
I am particularly glad that I read “Grant” at this time, when there is so much chaos happening in the present political arena. It serves as a good reminder that we as a nation have been in far worse times than we are now, and come through them well, at least ultimately. It puts things in perspective.
One big down side of reading a biography, though, is that it necessarily ends in death, if it covers the person’s entire life. I don’t care to read excruciating details of illness, and always avoid such endings in fiction if I can.
My rating: *****
Language: none
Sexual content: none
Violence: there are descriptions of war that are rather graphic, and descriptions of cancer at the end. But it tells only what it must.
Political content: historical only
Although it is long, and sometimes tedious, I have a new appreciation for Ulysses Grant. The book is well researched and meticulously written. The other thing I really appreciated was gaining a better understanding of our present difficulties through the lens of the period after the Civil War. It totally updated what I remember from school about Reconstruction. Well worth the time to read it.
In my journey through the biographies of the Presidents, this was one of the best. Chernow makes his biography accessible while presenting the history behind his subject. I believe this is a thorough look at Grant which presents the negative side of his personality as well as his very strong qualities. Although it is a very long book, it was not at all ponderous. I will read more of Chernow’s biographies. I might add that his biography of Hamilton was the book that got me started on this whole adventure of reading.
A look into our past history.
After reading this Grant is one of my favorite historical figures. A man who lived through incredibly tumultuous times and never lost a sense of his values and what was “the right thing.” If he had any shortcoming was in believing that others held themselves to as high standards as he did.
US Grant a unlikely President, but I think he was a better president than I had originally thought!
This one kept me enthralled from page one to page 800. I liked it better than his Hamilton book which was also very good.