Grant

Having read Ron Chernow's biographies of Washington, Hamilton, and now Grant, I am committed to reading Chernow's next irrespective of who the subject is. "Grant" is terrific. It is an enjoyable book, very readable with amazing insights into the character and challenges that Grant faced throughout his life. It is not a love letter; it is balanced - critical, sympathetic and admiring. "Grant" is incredibly well-researched and yet does not bog the reader down with every little fact, piece of data, and anecdote that Chernow discovered. Rather he shares information to tell his story. "Grant" is 959 pages, 43 chapters, four Parts. Some maps and photos; I wish there had been more. I found that 25 pages a day was just the right pace for me, and I looked forward each day to savoring the next 25. In my own mind I thought of the book as having five parts: the Early years, the Civil War years, the four years before his Presidency, the two terms as President, and his final years. Obviously, the second and fourth parts (Civil War, Presidency) form the biggest chunks of the story and together they make an interesting comment on Grant's life and accomplishments. Here is a man who made tremendous contributions to his country in two roles, one in saving the Union as the General of the U.S. Army in the Civil War, and secondly as President of the US in eight of the most difficult years of our country's history. Reflect back on our 45 Presidents and you will not find many who can make the same claim, not even Lincoln. EARLY YEARS So you think you know Grant? Then you probably realize he fought in the Mexican War, had a drinking problem, and was a store clerk when the Civil War started. But you may not realize Grant never really wanted to go to West Point; his father pressured him and even sealed the deal with a last minute favor from a Congressman. Grant was not a top student at West Point, nor mid-range for that matter. He was best at horsemanship and he earned widespread recognition from classmates for those skills. Many of his schoolmates became fellow in the Mexican War then surfaced again in the Civil War. Grant was a much better student in the battlefield - he studied and understood his fellow officers and came to learn their strengths and weaknesses, more importantly how they were likely to act alongside him or facing him. Much of Grant's war experience in Mexico was as a quartermaster, and he had to learn to provision for his Army, in a foreign country no less, especially how to maintain supply lines. This experience proved to be invaluable training for the War to come. Grant's drinking became a big issue during the War. There were many stories, some exaggerations, some lies. Chernow makes the point that for the most part Grant was an occasional drinker, someone who may go months without a drink, then binge for two or three days. And someone who had difficulty refusing a drink, someone who once started wouldn't stop. My initial reaction to the extensive emphasis on the drinking was that it was overdone. But it is a critical part of Grant's history and in following this story the reader must learn to deal with it. In this first section, there is a lot of personal history as well. Naturally there is a fair amount about wife Julia, the children and the difficulty in earning money for everyone's upkeep. But what I particularly enjoyed were the anecdotes about Grant's father, the abolitionist, and Grant's father-in-law, the slave owner. Interesting that although he detested his son-in-law, Col Dent accepted President and Mrs. Grant's offer to live with them in the White House and remained fiercely loyal to the Confederacy during his years there. CIVIL WAR YEARS I have been a casual student of the Civil War; I have read several books, watched video courses and programs, and visited battlefields (Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Gettysburg - I have resided in Virginia for the past 35 years). Almost all of the focus has been battles fought in the East. I have found that most Civil War treatments pay very little attention to what was going on in the "West" (essentially along the Mississippi and states along its eastern bank) except to position those battles as Grant's stepping stone to eventual leadership of the Union army. In "Grant" Chernow details these battles magnificently - Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga. Throughout Grant is portrayed as action oriented, ready to attack. Yet calm, steady, reflective - the battles have been planned to the nth degree. Occasionally, Union forces took a first battle day licking, but always were prepared to do the unexpected. On day two his army would regroup quickly and attack early the next day. Grant was a winner and he was fiercely loyal to Lincoln, and quickly becomes a Lincoln favorite. With his early string of victories U. S. Grant becomes Unconditional Surrender Grant. The only terms are his, but they are unexpectedly fair and gracious - all the way to and including Appomattox. Meanwhile Grant continues to also battle his drinking problem and jealous fellow officers over whom Grant is being promoted. Ultimately Grant is given responsibility for the whole of the Union Army and moves eastward. He immediately meets with Sherman and Sheridan to develop a multi-prong attack on Confederate forces from Virginia to Georgia. Grant begins his push against lee driving Lee southward away from Northern Virginia and Washington DC toward Richmond. I have read and studied several accounts of this portion of the War and none have been as riveting and exciting as Chernow's account. For me, this was the most exciting and enjoyable part of the book. RECONSTRUCTION BEGINS One of the biggest surprises for me in "Grant" was to learn of the marked improvements Grant made to the welfare of African-Americans. The biggest contributions began during the War years when newly freed slaves marched behind the Union Army following victories; Grant permitted this to ensure their safety and continuing freedom. He later created African-American fighting units; this was strongly opposed by many in the military as well as the government, especially in arming these soldiers with guns and rifles. During the early reconstruction years incredible numbers of blacks were slaughtered in southern states out of hatred and fear of ultimate voting power. Although he was subsequently criticized for doing too little, too late, Grant dispatched troops to those states with the most violence, especially Louisiana. Eventually, the KKK was disbanded (only to resurface years later). Grant, became a huge hero, idolized in the press, particularly in the victorious North, but he was respected in the South as well especially for his humane treatment of the Confederate forces at Appomattox. This created big problems for President Andrew Johnson, of course, as he saw Grant only in terms of a likely opponent in the next election. Forgive the pun, but their relationship quickly went South....as did Johnson's career. Lots of good history here, particularly about how horrible was the violence directed at African Americans during this time, how Grant was among the first whites to look at the black man as an equal, and how Grant slowly evolved from a military man to a political one. PRESIDENT GRANT Concerning Grant's presidency, Chernow quotes fellow historian Richard N. Current: "...he made a greater effort to secure the constitutional rights of blacks than did any President between Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson." Per Chernow, "Current... also saw Grant as the most underrated American President". Yet Grant certainly had his ups and downs as President. While he had many first term accomplishments - suppressing the Klan, reducing the post-war, swollen national debt, initiating reform of civil service and reducing the graft associated with contracts for Indian trading posts, settling a touchy ship sinking issue with England, appointing many blacks, Jews, Indians and women to government positions, and contributing to a general sense of peace and prosperity. He also had some black marks including charges of cronyism in his hiring and clumsy efforts to annex Santo Domingo. Nevertheless he was elected to a second consecutive term, the only president to do so between Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt. There were a number of scandals in his second term dealing with schemes to cheat the government of tax revenues, e.g. the Whiskey Ring. Grant never profited from these crimes but he was slow to accept that close friends had manipulated him to obtain critical positions. But once he understood the full depth of these crimes and certain individuals' guilt he quickly disassociated himself from them and demanded justice. In the midst of these scandals, a five year depression began in 1873, resulting in high unemployment and blame assessed by the press and opposition. Grant's popularity took a significant hit for the rest of his term. FINAL YEARS At the conclusion of his second term, tired and bitterly disappointed in the direction that the new administration of President Rutherford B. Hayes, Grant decided on a world tour, a tour that would last more than two years. He was feted in seemingly all the capitals of Europe and Asian. His hosts were the Who's Who of International government and diplomacy of the mid nineteenth century: Gladstone, Disraeli, Queen Victoria, Garibaldi, King Leopold II, French President MacMahon, Pope Leo XIII, KIng of Greece, King Umberto I, von Bismarck, Czar Alexander II, Prince Kung of China. It was fascinating to read the many anecdotes of personal meetings and subsequent opinions from both sides, most favorable, but some not. And the public worshipped him. For example, as Grant departed England at Newcastle 150,000 came to the docks to see him. Mostly working people, cheering wildly. Grant had never been a comfortable speaker. As President, he would scratch out his own comments and read them in an almost inaudible monotone. Incredibly, his skills improved significantly on his tour, though he never grew to enjoy the experience. Once he returned home he gave considerable thought to his future, particularly his finances. In those days, the President did not receive a pension. Grant had some investments yet once again, he was swindled, this time by a young financial wizard who used Grant's name to build an enormous pyramid which eventually collapsed; Grant lost everything. About this time, Grant was diagnosed with throat cancer, perhaps not surprising since he smoked up to two dozen cigars a day, and often chewed on an unlit one for hours. To provide income for his wife after his passing Grant agreed to write his memoirs, published by Mark Twain. Sales were expected to be huge and door to door salesman canvassed for orders. It became a race against the clock; it was close. Grant won. An excellent book. The New York Times had the good sense to put it on their 2017 recently released 100 notables list. I have read others by Chernow, all have been very, very good. I will read whatever he writes next.

“Grant” was my first Ron Chernow book, and I can easily see why he is considered today’s most prolific biographer. Despite its length and potentially dense subject matter, it was an absolute pleasure to read. Chernow weaves a narrative tale that never loses steam while allowing the reader to learn (and retain) a great deal about Grant, the times in which he lived, and his truly incredible impact on American history. In doing so, he makes a strong case that Grant, while certainly not one of our greatest presidents, was probably one of the most underrated chief executives in American history and was truly ahead of his time in many respects. Chernow treats each stage of Grants life with the attention it deserves, and manages to strike the optimal balance between the personal aspects of Grant’s life with the historical context in which he lived. While Chernow does an excellent job at highlighting Grant’s unforeseen rise and subsequent strategic genius during the Civil War, which rightfully comprises the bulk of the book, I was surprised to find how interested I was in other facets of Grant’s life. His exemplary record as a junior officer in Mexico as an adjutant during a harrowing, diseased-ridden expedition across Panama were page-turning sections. Likewise, Chernow’s treatment of Grant’s presidency, though not the most exciting period of American history, is well told despite potentially dense subject matter. Specifically, Chernow portrays the tragedy of Reconstruction quite well and gives Grant much-deserved credit for being a champion of equal rights while still holding him to account for various scandals that erupted during his administration. Grant’s post-presidency world tour and marathon effort to publish his memoirs against the backdrop of financial ruin were also brilliantly written sections. Overall, the reader comes to really know and sympathize with Grant, who comes across as an intelligent, dutiful man who seldom sought the spotlight, but repeatedly rose to the historical occasion despite a troubled personal life and a sympathetic naïveté in his private affairs. At nearly 1,000 pages of text, the book inevitably has flaws. Most are not a big deal, but two stood out for me. The first was more of a personal pet peeve, but I felt the author relied a lot on secondary sources, especially during the Civil War section of the book. It didn’t necessarily take away from the story, but he references other Grant biographies so often that at one point I wondered why I wasn’t just reading those. Similarly, he references Shelby Foote - who isn’t a historian and has an objectively problematic and historically inaccurate view of the Civil War - a great deal during that section of the book, which made me wonder about the validity of Chernow’s sources during other periods (i.e. Grant’s presidency) with which I am less familiar. The second issue, as other reviewers have noted, is the degree to which he discusses Grant’s alcoholism. It’s an important topic that I believe Chernow diagnoses correctly, but he references it so often that it becomes quite distracting. It fortunately subsides throughout most of the book’s second half, but inexplicably bookends Grant’s life at the tail end, which I think does a huge disservice to both Grant and the text itself. But these criticisms are ultimately hair-splitting issues. Chernow has done a great service in rehabilitating Grant’s reputation with this book, and I can’t imagine a more comprehensive yet engaging single-volume account of Grant’s life. I greatly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who is willing to learn more about one of the 19th Century’s most consequential American figures.

As I was reading Ron Chernow's biography of Grant, two themes kept recurring. 1) Kipling's poem, 'If', a tribute to 19th Century stoicism and the admirable (per Kipling) qualities that one SHOULD have. No question that Grant possessed a number of the qualities in Kipling's poem. On the battlefield, he was known to be 'cool as a cucumber', a guy who saw opportunity where others didn't, and one who could turn near disaster into victory, as Grant did at Shiloh. 'If you can keep your head about you when all others are losing theirs and blaming it on you...' 'If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two imposters just the same...' 'If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings, nor lose the common touch...' Kipling was supposedly writing the poem as a tribute to a 19th Century British politician, but could have easily been writing a tribute to Grant. Grant's life alternated between triumph and near disaster. Certainly as President and during his world tour after the presidency, he DID walk with kings, yet maintained his common touch. 2) 'Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me!' Sadly, Grant's ventures into the business world were unsuccessful, largely due to his personal gullibility. He was either too tenderhearted to be a bill collector, or too gullible to see the dishonesty in others. From his first venture after the Mexican War, seemingly a sure thing, except he let his business partner, a scoundrel, abscond with the profits and capital, to his post-Presidential foray into Wall Street, where his business partner, Ferdinand Ward, was found guilty of running a Ponzi Scheme, Grant had a spectacular string of experiences where he was left duped. Perhaps his biggest personal triumph from this last disaster was finishing his memoirs, literally finishing them on his death bed within days of his passing. The proceeds from these memoirs ensured his family's financial security, and preserved Grant's memory as a national hero in the public consciousness. The best description of Grant came from his fellow general and friend, William Tecumseh Sherman: "Grant is a mystery, even unto himself.' Ron Chernow does a fine job of helping explain this mystery, and it all appears to be tied to the individuals who were in Grant's life at different times during his life's journey. Grant probably never would have pursued a military career had his father not used some connections to get him into West Point, and even that was against Grant's personal wishes. During the Mexican War, Grant found his calling---not that he LIKED combat, but, somehow, he was good at it. He could be decisive, and exhibit incredible bravery, even risking his own life in the heat of battle. Unfortunately, his battle with alcohol in peace time cost him a career in the regular army, and caused him to resign in 1854, lest he be court martialed by his commanding officer, a martinet. After a string of unsuccessful business ventures over the next six years, Grant was once again saved by his father who took him into the family business, a tannery and leather goods store, where Grant could finally have a near middle class existence in Galena, Illinois, working along side his younger brothers. The Civil War was the game changer in Grant's life. The regular army wanted nothing to do with him at the outset given the rumors of his alcoholism, but the Illinois Volunteers were more than happy to have him in a senior position, as someone who knew a thing or two about war, and training soldiers. Here, the key people in his life were Elihu Washburne, the local Congressman, who would be Grant's supporter throughout the war, and John Rawlins, a local attorney, who became Grant's aid. Rawlins, in particular, could communicate with Grant as nobody else could, warning him of his responsibilities to the Army and the Republic and exhorting him to stay away from the bottle. As fellow military commanders, William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan could be trusted to carry out Grant's battle plans. In late summer, 1864, when the war in Virginia was being fought to a stalemate and President Lincoln was alerting his cabinet to the likelihood that his administration may not get re-elected as the country was tired after three plus years of war, it was Sherman's taking of Atlanta, and Sheridan's classic ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek, rallying the troops and turning defeat into victory, that assured the public that the Confederate Army was truly on the ropes, and ensured Lincoln's re-election. Much can probably also be said that the Lincoln that we American citizens idolize, the Lincoln portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis, the Lincoln of the five dollar bill and Lincoln Memorial, probably would not have attained this status had it not been for Grant's prosecution of the war and victories at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg (probably his greatest military campaign), Chattanooga and Appomattox. Likewise, Grant probably doesn't get his status as head of the Army without Lincoln's support. Not to take anything away from Grant however: his bulldog tenacity on the battlefield resulted in key Union Army victories, and his personal belief of always moving forward and never retreating were key elements of his military success. Not bad for a guy who didn't even want to go to West Point, and supposedly detested the sight of blood. Also, his personal trait of magnanimity at Appomattox, where he wouldn't even let the Union Army celebrate in front of the defeated Confederate Army, and his commitment to ensuring that Lee's Army had adequate rations, could keep their horses, and were properly paroled upon surrender are testament to his conviction that once victory was achieved, the peace also needed to be won as well. Much has been written about Grant's Presidential administration as one of corruption, but, again, this is a function of some of the cabinet members and advisors with whom he surrounded himself. Chernow shows how passionately Grant worked to make advances for African Americans, Native Americans, appointed the first Jewish diplomats, and genuinely wanted peace between the Northern and Southern states. In retrospect, Grant had done a workmanlike job in a very precarious time in the country, and took action to keep peace, tackle corruption and keep the economy under control, during a time when the country was experiencing the effects of the Industrial Revolution. Mr. Chernow highlights a number of facts about Grant's life. He clearly had an issue with alcohol, and the fact that there is literally nothing further about this occurring in Grant's life after the Civil War is testament to his triumph over the bottle. Likely helping Grant in this battle is his beloved wife, Julia, who seemed to understand him, and to whom Grant was extremely devoted and did not want to disappoint. She was his biggest supporter and stood by him during the worst of times (after his resignation from the Army in 1854) and the best of times, through his victories in the Civil War and his presidency. Finally, at the end of his life, the key person behind the memoirs and their financial success was Mark Twain, who took control of this publication, after another publisher attempted to get Grant to sign a contract that would have given him near nothing from the publication itself. There have been some excellent biographies written about Grant, by William McFeeley, Joan Waugh, and Jean Edward Smith. Mr. Chernow's appears to be the most comprehensive, and insightful. It his highly unlikely that 'Grant: the Musical' will ever come to Broadway (unlike Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton which became Lin-Manuel Miranda's inspiration for the Tony-award winning production), but it is hoped that a good biography of Grant comes to the silver screen with an accurate and insightful portrayal of this important American.

My reading of Mr. Chernow's biography of Grant made me realize why he won such acclaim for the book. It opened up several avenues of discovery for me and then filled in the gaps of what I did not previously know of Grant. For instance, the wealth of material on Grant's family life -- both the relationship with his parents and the dealings with his in laws -- gave me a solid picture of the private struggles Grant endured through his life. Mr. Chernow's research not only brings Grant to life, but it makes a reader sympathize with Grant, who despite his well-known role as warrior, drew upon a part of his character as broker/keeper of peace. The author emphasizes that the generous surrender terms offered to Lee at Appomattox represented Grant's wish for healing that he advocated after the war as well. That feeling during Reconstruction became something that haunted President Grant. Chernow's writing on Reconstruction was enlightening. That era of U.S. History is an entanglement to say the least, and the author did well in guiding the reader. One of the starkest points in the book involves the difficulties of Reconstruction which saw the rise of the KKK , serious curtailing of Black voting rights, and widespread violence against African-Americans, all in violation of Federal goals. Grant worried that if those activities were not stopped that all he and the Union troops had fought for and won in the Civil War would be lost. It is a sobering thought, and given civil rights struggles that are ongoing, it might be a thought we should still ponder. Two points of criticism/questioning involve battle action in the Civil War. Mr. Chernow states that General Meade wanted to retreat instead of fighting at Gettysburg. While a famous council of war was held with his generals at Gettysburg, and the question of standing or falling back was on the table, I believe that Meade scholars would disagree that Meade wanted to retreat. The second point concerns a statement made about CSA General Braxton Bragg. The line reads: "...Bragg had won significant victories at Perryville, Stones River, and Chickamauga... ." Chickamauga was no doubt a significant victory, but I have toured these fields and done considerable reading on the battles and have found nothing to make me believe that Perryville and Stones River were "significant victories" for Bragg. In both cases, his army left the field in Union hands, and the Confederate attempt to claim Kentucky was turned back and ended at Perryville. However, that said, those thoughts should not be a deal-breaker for a prospective reader. Mr. Chernow takes one on a march with U.S. Grant that is rewarding.

This is an awesome biography for both casual readers and historians. The book is a magnificent sweep of not just Grant's life but also the country and politics around him. For most Americans the period after the Civil War - from Lincoln to Teddy Roosevelt - is the vague territory of "fly-over history." These 35 years are seen through a few landmarks glimpsed from a hazy distance - reconstruction, carpetbaggers, the Gilded Age and if you can remember any president of this period it's Grant - great general, poor president, whose term was riddled with corruption. This book brings all of this into sharp focus. And most of what you thought you knew about this period, and Grant in particular, was wrong. The country was saved for having Grant in command of the Union forces and the country was better for having Grant as president. Most of us get shaped by our experiences early in our professional life. Grant even more so. Starting when he was 17, he spent four years at West Point (meeting many of the Confederate generals he would face two decades later.) In battle at the age of 24 in the Mexican War, he "resigned" from the military at the age of 32 as a drunk with his military career over. He carried scars from this period that shaped the rest of his life - most notably his struggle with alcoholism, but also fighting a false accusation of embezzling government funds. A few big themes thread through the book. As Chernow says, Grant was an alcoholic. It ruined him early in his career, dogged him as a General and he struggled until he got it mostly under control later in life. His critics used this as a label for his entire career. In 1848, when he was 26 and a quartermaster in the Army Grant was accused of stealing $1,000. He was incensed to be falsely accused and fought to protect his reputation. Twenty years later you can see how he presumed innocence to people closest to him even when presented with irrefutable evidence of malfeasance. During the Civil War, after Grant's victories in Vicksburg and Chattanooga, Lincoln plucked him out of the western theater and gave him overall command of all Union armies. While his predecessors fought a battle at a time, Grant had a "big picture" view of strategy - use the North's advantage in manpower and resources to fight the South simultaneously on all fronts. At the same time, he removed incapable/incompetent generals and replaced them with a team that could win. He made some foolish mistakes that cost tens of thousands of lives, but in the end his strategy of "take the battle to them and don't let go," won the war. As President, Grant was to discover that Politics is the art of consensus building, horse-trading and negotiation - the opposite of command and control system of the military. He had a hard time listening to others, not only his own cabinet, but to a congress who thought they were in charge. Given the rapid industrialization of the country (railroads, mining, steel, etc.) large sums of money depended on government contracts/legislation. Time and again he was surprised to find himself the only honest man surrounded by a den of thieves - his friends, advisors, cabinet members - all betrayed him. He had no instinct at all for the corruption that surrounded him. But the most surprising theme for me was his belief that the Civil War wasn't fought over succession, but rather slavery. And as president his unswerving conviction that Reconstruction - education and voting rights for freed black slaves was needed to make the nation whole again. And his insistence in enforcing these new rights (and the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments) with federal law and if necessary federal enforcement. An amazing book. Well worth your time. Read it conjunction with Richard White's The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (Oxford History of the United States) to understand what happened after Grant and the rise of the Gilded Age.

U. S. Grant is an amazing story. Even how he came upon his name (which was latter joked to be Unconditional Surrender Grant) is an interesting story. At the dawn of the Civil War, Grant was broke, having failed in several business attempts. He had been dismissed from the army due to his drinking problems. Eight years later, after having led the Union forces to victory, Grant is the President of the United States. In this massive biography, Ron Chernow tells Grant’s story. Chernow challenges many of the presuppositions that are often held about Grant such as his military achievement was due to his superior numbers and that he, like his presidency, was corrupt. While acknowledging the truth of the Union superiority in numbers and the corruption of his administration, Chernow believes that Grant was a superior officer and he, himself, wasn’t corrupt. Grant’s greatest fault, according to Chernow, was his loyalty to friends. It appears Grant best action and clearest head was in the chaos of battle. In his private life he often overlooked the faults of his friends and was too trusting. In battle, he had no problems removing ineffective commanders. Grant is certainly a study in complexity. His father was overbearing, a successful businessman, and a strong abolitionist. His wife, Julia, came from a Southern Planter family and his father-in-law remained an unrepentant Southern even as he lived in the White House during Grant’s presidency. The two families hated each other. His father, who was critical of his son’s failures before the war, was proud of his son during the war even while he attempted to use his son for economic gain. His father, in business with two Jewish merchants, sought to benefit from Grant’s position in the western theater in order to acquire cotton. Grant became so mad that he banned all Jewish merchants from the army’s camp (a ban that was later rescinded). Grant would have to deal with embarrassments from his family for much of his life. Grant was a graduate of West Point and served in the Mexican War (and later admitted that he felt the war was unjust). After the war, he served in California and Washington Territory, before coming back East as a civilian. At the beginning of the Civil War, he volunteered as an officer and joined in Ohio. Grant rose to prominence following his wins in the Western theater of the campaign (where he became close to Sherman), he didn’t meet Lincoln until he was being made the General of the Army. In this position, Grant was able to coordinate the movements of all the armies of the North with a goal of not defeating the South on the battlefield, but of defeating the Confederacy. While much of the war had been fought with armies working independently, Grant, in 1864, coordinated the attacks on all fronts, a strategy that kept the South from shuffling troops from one front to the other and led to the end of the war. Grant knew many within the leadership of the Confederacy. He had been a good friend of James Longstreet since their time at West Point and after the war, the two continued their friendship. He had met Lee in Mexico, but unlike other Union generals wasn’t intimated by him. Grant’s strategy was to always keep pushing. Even if he lost a battle, he would quickly regroup and attack again, before his enemy was able to rebuild his troops. Often, in battles such as Shiloh, the first day was lost but because of continuing the attack instead of withdrawing from the field, victory (or at least reaching objectives, which he saw as more important) were achieved on the second day. During the war, Grant despised the guerrilla tactics of John Singleton Mosby, but after the war he, too, became friend and supporter. Mosby would later become the United States ambassador to Thailand. Grant and Lee had only one additional meeting after the war. Lee called on Grant about a railroad project and didn’t laugh when Grant suggested the two of them had done enough destroying of railroads for them to become builders. While Grant wasn’t intimidated by Lee, neither is Chernow, who challenges a lot of presumptions held about the Southern General. I found many interesting insights into this book. One was how Lincoln feared that Grant might decide to run for the presidency in 1864, something Grant denied. In many ways, he was a humble man. But he was married to a former Southern Belle, who delighted in the spotlight. I was also amazed that after Hayes’ presidency, who had announced early on that he would only serve one term, Grant considered (and other pushed him) to return to the White House. But his attempt at a comeback failed when the Republicans chose Garfield. While Grant’s presidency had its corruption, which Chernow deals with, I felt he tended to sweep allegations of Grant being beholding to business leaders (many of whom had given him homes and money) under the table. Chernow paints a picture of the President who was concerned about Reconstruction and the danger of losing that which so many men had given their lives. He was very concern about the way the “old south” was rising through the Ku Klux Klan. As a General, Grant found that black soldiers were just as good as white soldiers. It bothered him when he learned of former black soldiers being lynched in the South, yet he was also concerned about overusing force. Interestingly, Sherman, who was seen as less generous than Grant as he swept across Georgia and South Carolina during the war, took the side of the South after the war. Sherman suggested leaving states to work out their own laws. Grant knew that such a tactic would end up with a South in which African-Americans would be no better off than before the war and saw the government had a role to play in reducing violence. It was interesting to learn how Grant had his eyes on the United States acquiring Santa Domingo (today’s the Dominican Republic). He was also ready to go to war with Mexico, if necessary, to force the French out. Others in his cabinet had eyes on Cuba and it was even suggested that Great Britain give the United States Canada as payment from the damages of the British built Confederate ship, Alabama. After his second term, Grant became the first American president to make a round-the-world trip. It started out as a rest in Europe, but ended up being a diplomatic mission as Grant visited Egypt, India, Thailand, China and Japan. Coming back to the United States, Grant saw what financial security he had to evaporate overnight in a Ponzi scheme. Friends stepped in which allowed him to have a house in which to live. Mark Twain, who had befriended Grant, worked with him to write a biography. Grant, suffering from throat cancer, finished the book right before his death. Twain, who published the book, was able to present Julia with the books royalties of nearly half a million dollars, making it one of the most successful books of the 19th Century. Chernow deals with Grant’s drinking, suggesting that during the war he generally refrained from drinking in front of his troops (his drunken accounts were when he was away from the front). Grant had aides and a wife who worked hard to keep him from drinking. It appears Grant was mainly a binge drinker. As long as he avoided alcohol, he was okay, but once he started drinking he continued until he was extremely drunk. This is a well-researched study. Some may suggest that Chernow, in challenging many of the Grant myths, is playing in revisionist history. But it’s important to remember that many of the Grant myths that rose in the 19th Century at a time when the United States wanted to move beyond reconstruction. At this time, revisionist histories such as the “Lost Cause” movement became popular and united “white” America behind myths such as benevolent masters and the states’ rights. If you have time, I recommend this book.

Grant was an incredible person. It was interesting to learn that had the civil war not happened Grant would likely have been largely an unsuccessful drifter with his wife and family. When the Civil War broke out he was a very lowly clerk in one of his father’s stores. He was paid very little and had no ownership. His father and his father in law both somewhat scornfully viewed Grant as a failure. When the Cicil War did break out it was still somewhat difficult for Grant to get any kind of commission, despite being a West Point graduate and a veteran of the Mexican War. He was viewed, somewhat unfairly, as a terrible drunk. However he did get a small commission largely because he was currently living in Illinois and the politics worked out with one of the states senators or representatives. Then what happened was Grant started winning battles. He was aggressive and smart. At one point Grant realized how terrified he was of battle and was smart enough to realize that the opposing armies likely felt the same way. He decided he would take advantage of that realization and always used it to his advantage. He worked his way up to be the general of the entire US army and became possibly the North’s largest celebrity, largely because he was a northern general that actually showed you can beat the south. Grant was an ardent supporter of Abraham Lincoln and stood behind his political decisions and saw them as important aspects of the war. Grant was somewhat ahead of his time when it come to blacks, with a very progressive view of what blacks were capable of and of their deserving equal rights. One of the greatest legacies that Grant left was when he forced the surrender of Robert E Lee, he could have demanded almost any terms and Lee would have had to accept. However, Grant allowed Lee and his army to return home without worry of later prosecution if they didn’t rejoin another southern army and even keep their sidearms and their horses. This kindness and understanding by Grant earned Grant tremendous respect from the Southern people for the remainder of his life. Southern soldiers thereafter had a great respect and appreciation for Grant. Lincoln wholeheartedly approved of Grants generosity and felt it was just what was needed to begin reconciliation with the South. Eventually Grant became President of the United States and was even elected to two terms, which was very rare in his era. He was a good president but was much too trusting of those who worked for him. Many of those people were corrupt and abused their power in the federal government. It happened a couple times and Grant could never understand or grasp that people could be so two-faced and act so terribly. After his presidency he toured Europe for a couple years and learned to be a celebrity. He learned to speak well extemporaneously and learned how to entertain very high born people. In later life Grant was gifted a lot of money by wealthy people who didn’t want their past president to be destitute. Grant was essentially swindled out of his money by a charlatan who ‘partnered’ with Grant in an investing firm. The charlatan essentially created a ponzu scheme that took nearly all of the Grant families money. This left Grant without means to provide for himself and his family. He was also diagnosed with cancer around this time. This spurred Grant to write his memoirs to provide for his family after his death. His memoirs are said to be some of the best memoirs ever written. His style was honest and direct and his viewpoint of the civil war is unparalleled. The money from his memoirs was able to provide his wife with enough money to live comfortably. Grant was incredible. He led the Northern Armies after all the other northern generals did a terrible job. Grant did a great job. He is oftentimes unfairly called a butcher who was simply willing to watch tens of thousands of his men die and that he wasn’t intelligent but just willing to use the force necessary to win. This is an unfair characterization that was an excuse by the South as to why they lost the war. Grant was a great tactician. Grant’s wife Julia was a loving and doting wife who always believed her husband was the man others came to view him as. She was a great support for Grant.

With almost a thousand pages of text in relatively small font, Chernow’s biography of Grant gives the reader a detailed picture of this often puzzling man. Failed businessman, courageous general, defender of the freedmen (though less so Native Americans), incredibly naïve president, powerful writer. All these are spelled out in detail. Like in his Washington and Hamilton biographies, Chernow in this book is a fluent and engaging writer. At times, especially during Grant’s war years, I thought Chernow piled on the praise a little thick. How many times does the reader have to hear how “humble” or genuine Grant was? Grant was an “extraordinary” general, as we learn from Chernow many times over with that and similar adjectives. But with the book as a whole being so well done, this point is a quibble. Some reviewers have said that the book is too repetitive about Grant’s battles with alcohol but this was a critically important lifelong problem that Grant successfully overcame as he got older. I didn’t find Chernow’s references to it excessive. Grant was a strange combination of traits: stoicism, military intelligence, leader of men, empathy for the downtrodden, obsessive about money, interpersonal openness and trust taken to extremes. His self-understanding was often very different from how others saw him and, while he could be a fast learner in military matters, he could be incredibly dense about politics and finance. This complicated personality is brilliantly portrayed by Chernow. The book lights up Grant like no other biography of him and the details in the book light up a critical time when the United States almost ceased to exist. The book is well worth both the money and the time invested in reading it.

Excellent ouvrage clair et bien documenté, j'ai appris des masses de choses sur ce général et président assez méconnu.

The whole story materialises in Mr. Grant’s portrait on the cover: what a successful man despite all the inner and outer tensions! The whole book has been so valuable for my own reflections. Thank you so much Mr Grant & Mr Chernow.

Extraordinario! Si leyeron las memorias de Grant, este libro está visto desde la versión de muchas otras personas, principalmente corrrespondencia de allegados. Este libro lleva a Grant a niveles muy superiores a los que el mismo se clasificaba. Sin duda fue quien dio continuidad a los peoyectos de Lincoln.

Good so far ..

A biography on General Ulysses S Grant, the man who ultimately won the American Civil War and would go on to be the 18th President of the United States. The book covers everything from his childhood years to his death. A quite comprehensive volume, researched thoroughly and with no detail spared. It would be difficult to be more comprehensive without fabrication. Anything that is known about US Grant is in this book. This has a downside, though depends on what aspects of his life you are interested in. I was most interested in his Civil War career and those chapters are a brilliant insight into the mind and personality of a military genius with the detail aiding these insights. However, his political career gets the same level of detail and there it sometimes is a grind for me, being far less interested in politics. Overall, quite the biography.