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4.0
So what do you think you know about President Grant? Let me guess: Because your history teacher said so way back in the day, you’re pretty sure he was a total slosh drunk. Who somehow drunkenly fumbled and stumbled his way to civil war success. No one says these days that Grant was a complete abstainer where alcohol is concerned, but more and more 21st-century civil war scholars are becoming convinced that many of the stories in which Grant is characterized as a complete booze hound significantly exaggerated the issue. Although some biographies repeat a story told by a newspaper reporter about a drunken trip Grant allegedly took on a steamer, current scholarship tends to debunk that story entirely. So if you thought you could pass this one up because you just don’t want to read about some nasty old drunk who succeeded in spite of himself, it’s time to rethink.
I very much enjoyed the writing style of this biography. Granted, toward the end, it bogs down a bit in terms of Grant’s military movements, but it would be tough to write a comprehensive biography and not cover those, so it’s forgivable. Otherwise, this is highly engaging, and it’s a read that will hold your interest.
One of the things that impressed me most about this biography is that it stressed Grant’s hatred for war. He wasn’t the type to run from a battle or make excuses when he failed, but he despised war, and he had no problem telling anyone about his concern for needless bloodshed and carnage. Isn’t it ironic how some of this nation’s best and finest warriors have been men of peace. Eisenhower is documented as someone who hated war but who knew how to stay in the thick of things as necessary.
Grant grew up in an unusual family dynamic. He had a braggart for a father and a mother who was so taciturn as to leave him in doubt as to her affection for him. The need for that affection from a female came in the form of Julia Dent of Missouri. Her slave-owning dad wanted her to have nothing to do with Grant, but, showing the persistence for which he would ultimately become internationally famous, he dug in as if he were under siege and fought valiantly until her father agreed to the marriage.
This is the story of a kid from Ohio and Illinois who loved horses. He could more easily break a horse with his gentle manner than any one might expect. That love of horses would stand him well as he would eventually lead union forces to victory in the spring of 1865. You’ll read about the West Point appointee who was in every way undistinguished. He wasn’t at the bottom of his class, but nor was he at the top. He had a slouch, and he was in the habit of wearing casual sometimes badly rumpled and soiled clothes. That nondescript persona meant he could enter rooms without notice and quietly glean information that would be valuable to him. He was never without his pipe in the early days or his cigar as the war drew to its close. Mathematics came easily to Grant, and it may have been that arithmetic mind of his that assisted him in concocting battle plans that were sometimes somewhat unconventional and most often successful.
You’ll read here about Grant’s friendship with Lincoln and his wife, Julia’s unflagging enmity toward Mrs. Lincoln. Indeed, it was Julia’s dislike for Mary Lincoln that kept Grant out of Ford’s theater the night Lincoln was killed—likely saving Grant’s life.
The scenes depicted at the surrender of confederate forces in Virginia in April of 1865 are memorable and poignant. Both Grant and Lee come out nicely here, and it is Grant’s disapproval of pomp and ceremony that resulted in a very low-key surrender of confederate forces. Grant instructed his own men to avoid cheering as the surrender took place, reminding them that once again, these hungry tired southerners were their countrymen. As a result, U.S. forces were relatively subdued out of respect for their commander if nothing else.
In short, you don't need to be obsessed with the civil war to enjoy this book. In fact, a casual interest in it is enough to get you started, and the author's talent will keep you reading.
I very much enjoyed the writing style of this biography. Granted, toward the end, it bogs down a bit in terms of Grant’s military movements, but it would be tough to write a comprehensive biography and not cover those, so it’s forgivable. Otherwise, this is highly engaging, and it’s a read that will hold your interest.
One of the things that impressed me most about this biography is that it stressed Grant’s hatred for war. He wasn’t the type to run from a battle or make excuses when he failed, but he despised war, and he had no problem telling anyone about his concern for needless bloodshed and carnage. Isn’t it ironic how some of this nation’s best and finest warriors have been men of peace. Eisenhower is documented as someone who hated war but who knew how to stay in the thick of things as necessary.
Grant grew up in an unusual family dynamic. He had a braggart for a father and a mother who was so taciturn as to leave him in doubt as to her affection for him. The need for that affection from a female came in the form of Julia Dent of Missouri. Her slave-owning dad wanted her to have nothing to do with Grant, but, showing the persistence for which he would ultimately become internationally famous, he dug in as if he were under siege and fought valiantly until her father agreed to the marriage.
This is the story of a kid from Ohio and Illinois who loved horses. He could more easily break a horse with his gentle manner than any one might expect. That love of horses would stand him well as he would eventually lead union forces to victory in the spring of 1865. You’ll read about the West Point appointee who was in every way undistinguished. He wasn’t at the bottom of his class, but nor was he at the top. He had a slouch, and he was in the habit of wearing casual sometimes badly rumpled and soiled clothes. That nondescript persona meant he could enter rooms without notice and quietly glean information that would be valuable to him. He was never without his pipe in the early days or his cigar as the war drew to its close. Mathematics came easily to Grant, and it may have been that arithmetic mind of his that assisted him in concocting battle plans that were sometimes somewhat unconventional and most often successful.
You’ll read here about Grant’s friendship with Lincoln and his wife, Julia’s unflagging enmity toward Mrs. Lincoln. Indeed, it was Julia’s dislike for Mary Lincoln that kept Grant out of Ford’s theater the night Lincoln was killed—likely saving Grant’s life.
The scenes depicted at the surrender of confederate forces in Virginia in April of 1865 are memorable and poignant. Both Grant and Lee come out nicely here, and it is Grant’s disapproval of pomp and ceremony that resulted in a very low-key surrender of confederate forces. Grant instructed his own men to avoid cheering as the surrender took place, reminding them that once again, these hungry tired southerners were their countrymen. As a result, U.S. forces were relatively subdued out of respect for their commander if nothing else.
In short, you don't need to be obsessed with the civil war to enjoy this book. In fact, a casual interest in it is enough to get you started, and the author's talent will keep you reading.
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