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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The best book about Grant ever written. It changed my view on Reconstruction and the price we paid for Lincoln’s assassination and Andrew Johnson’s racism—a price we are still paying today. Grant comes across as one of the great ones—a man with flaws, which he overcame, and even greater strengths, which may have saved a nation. Highly recommended.
Somewhat too much information
A really good book about grant, the generals and the civil war
A world-class writer that researches beyond the. mundane. Worth all moments in time to discover his books.
Good
Somewhat tedious with too much of the unsubstantiated gossip about Grant’s drinking and too many battle details.
Wonderful book that will open your eyes to many things you may not have known about Grant.
Excellent read. This man was truly one of the great heroes in our history and really unappreciated. Most historians seem to dwell on his personal shortcomings but fail to point out how he was able to overcome a somewhat sad life and rise to greatness in spite of this.
Outstanding history of perhaps our greatest General and most underated President
Well written. Ulsyess Grant a military genius. Compassionate family man. He was definitely a soldier’s general.
I wasn’t sure what to expect before starting this bio, but I really, really liked it. It certainly was one of the best bios that I’ve read for this project (or ever, for that matter). It was well-written and the details made it so easy to picture the people and events in my head. I will say, though, that during the Civil War-focused chapters, it did get hard to follow along. There were plenty of month and day references, but not really many (or any) year references until the re-election of Lincoln was discussed (1864). So without prior knowledge (or google searches which I didn’t do), it was hard keeping track of when the different battles occurred in the war.
Excellent story of a misunderstood President and General. a whiff of humanity for a general who sent many to their death. Sufficient detail. more thorough than biographical sketches written for the Civil War cententary
Taught me how little I knew, especially about Grant (sullied by lies I was taught), the War and battle in it, Andrew Johnson (about whom I knew nothing), the viciousness of much of the post-War South, Reconstruction and adoption of the Thirteenth through Fifteenth amendments to our Constitution, and politics back then. Fills in blanks I ought to have filled in long ago. Should be required reading, long as it is, for every graduating high school student. Every single one of them.
Non-fiction about one of America’s great presidents written by a man whose narrative is as close to fiction as possible. Wonderful writing makes the complicated life of Ulysses S. Grant relevant and memorable.
Great biography of an under appreciated American hero.
Wonderful read about the greatest general of the Civil War and a reinterpretation of his presidency. A must read for any Civil War buff.
Good but I have to wonder about the accuracy of some of its “facts”.
I am reading this now. Chernow makes Grant’s biography read like a novel. If you liked Chernow’s other biographies (Washington, Hamilton, etc) you will like this one also
It painted an very intereseting and complex portrait of Grant. Very readable and compelling
I enjoyed the book. It was a biography of Grant and very informative regarding his early life, his brilliant military career before and during the Civil War and his rise to become President. It isn’t a book that you race through but I enjoyed it for what it was; the life of Ulysses S Grant and other military leaders Union and Confederate.