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Grant (1981)
Front Cover Book Details
Genre Biography; Non-Fiction
Subject Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885; Presidents - United States - Biography; United States - History - Civil War, 1861-1865 - Campaigns; United States - Politics and government - 1869-1877
Publication Date 10/14/1981
Format Hardcover (9.3 x 6.6 mm)
Publisher W. W. Norton & Company
Language English
Description
From his boyhood in Ohio to the battlefields of the Civil War and his presidency during the Reconstruction, this Pulitzer Prize-winning biography traces the entire arc of Grant's life.
Personal Details
Store AbeBooks
Purchase Price $6.99
Acquire Date 3/21/2013
Condition Very Good/Good
Rating 0
Links Library of Congress
Product Details
LoC Classification E672 .M15 1981
Dewey 973.8/2/0924
ISBN 9780393013726
Edition [1st ed.]
Cover Price $19.95
No. of Pages 592
First Edition Yes
Rare No
Notes/Review
Dj worn with several chips at the edges.

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I'm working my way through whole-life biographies of US presidents. A good friend recommended, when I go to Grant, that I read his memoirs. After a bit of research, I decided to read McFeely's book instead because Grant's memoirs don't include his presidential years. I will get around to reading Grant's memoirs one of these days, though, as I often hear them regarded as one of the great works about the Civil War.

This book pretty much hit the sweet spot in my requirements when it comes to presidential biographies. I want to read about the whole life of the subject, not just the years he was president. I understand the tendency for an author to be sympathetic to the subject, particularly after close study, but I'd like to find a book that is neither hagiographic nor condemnatory. And I'd like a biography to be scholarly - well organized, well noted, with a bibliography. Finally, it should be well written and easy to read. McFeely's book succeeds, for me, on all these points.

Before reading this, I was a blank slate regarding Grant. I knew no more than that he was a General, a president, and on the $50 bill. Now, after this book, I wonder why he's on the 50. He really wasn't very good at anything, other than being a General and writing his memoirs. I can think of a few presidents more worthy of being on our currency.

Anyway, anybody looking for a good book about the man should consider this one.