Rating: 
Summary: very thorough and enjoyable
Review:
Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs are unsentimental, unsparing, and full of detail. If you wish to read about war from the perspective of a soldier, this is one of the best accounts you'll find; there is a combination of historical tidbits (such as how mules were trained to carry supplies in the war against Mexico) and more universal reflections on what it's like to fight in a war and lead other men to battle - to victory or defeat, survival or death.
The memoirs don't cover all of Grant's life, but largely the Mexican War and the Civil War; not only do we get detailed accounts of what Grant saw during those two wars, we also see America change before our eyes - its landscape and technology, the mentality of its people. What I really liked about Grant's writing style is that he's very plainspoken. There isn't a bit of melodrama or overwrought, gushy prose in his personal works. He writes in a straightforward way, often tinged with wryness and subtle, self-deprecating humor; there's no self-aggrandizement in his memoirs. When he disagrees with something or thinks that it's deplorable, he says so with no qualms; and when he believes that someone has qualities worthy of praise, he will tell you about them plainly, with deep respect.
People who generally don't like reading historical texts might find the detailed accounts a little dry. But if you want to get steeped in an important part of American history, as seen through the eyes of an important historical figure, you'll truly enjoy Grant's memoirs, and the insights and observations that he offers.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant
Review: It is been said that Grant's memoirs are the finest written by an American president, and such an assessment may well be true, which is among the reasons why I wanted to read them. Lincoln held Grant in very high regard, and credited both Grant and Sherman with winning the Civil War militarily and thereby preserving the Union. Grant returned Lincoln's respect and praise, both in the words that he wrote and in his decision not to become a presidential candidate in 1864 -- and probably a very formidable rival, according to Lincoln's keen political judgment.
It is a shame that Grant did not write about his own two-term presidency, and instead concluded his memoirs with the war's end. However, he died of throat cancer in 1885, twenty years after the "rebellion" ended and less than a week after completing work on the memoirs, which were written in large part to provide much-needed financial security for his beloved wife, Julia Dent Grant. They accomplished their purpose, and were encouraged and edited by his friend, Mark Twain.
While I am not a student of the Civil War, nor of the other campaigns in which Grant served -- all of which are discussed in great detail -- his memoirs give the reader a window into the man and the war that wrenched and transformed this nation, and produced so much carnage on both sides. Like Eisenhower and other famous generals, Grant concludes, "this war was a fearful lesson, and should teach us the necessity of avoiding wars in the future."
However, Grant adds: "To maintain peace in the future it is necessary to be prepared for war. . . . [U]nless we are prepared for it we may be in danger of a combined movement being some day made to crush us out." With respect to former slaves, Grant writes: "[H]e was brought to our shores by compulsion, and he now should be considered as having as good a right to remain here as any other class of our citizens."
As to the future of our nation and the healing of its wounds, he concluded:
"The war has made us a nation of great power and intelligence. . . . I feel we are on the eve of a new era, when there is to be great harmony between the [North and South]. I cannot stay to be a living witness to the correctness of this prophecy; but I feel it within me that it is to be so. The universally kind feeling expressed for me at a time when it was supposed that each day would prove my last, seemed to me the beginning of the answer to 'Let us have peace.'
"The expressions of these kindly feelings were not restricted to a section of the country, nor to a division of the people. They came from individual citizens of all nationalities; from all denominations -- the Protestant, the Catholic, and the Jew; and from various societies of the land -- scientific, educational, religious, or otherwise. Politics did not enter into the matter at all."
Grant dedicated his memoirs to the "American Soldier And Sailor"; and it seems true, as Geoffrey Perret has written, "he was modest, sensitive, generous, honest, and superlatively intelligent. Grant's courage, both moral and physical, was a matter of record." And he lives on through his words and deeds.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST AND MOST POIGNANT MEMOIR BY A PRESIDENT
Review: "The Personal Memoirs" of U.S. Grant are not only the very best memoirs ever penned by a former President, but they are also the most poignant.
Imagine this. A man who was a failure at business and is even rejected by the pompous George McClellan when he practically begged for a regimental command becomes one of the greatest military commanders in United States History, perhaps even a more solid and accomplished leader than the Robert E. Lee whose "Marble Man" legend has eclipsed Grant (don't forget the unassuming Grant not only paved the way for a Union Victory in the West, but also bested the noble Lee from the Wilderness to Appomattox). He was elected President, but despite his own personal honesty and integrity, his administration was wracked by scandal.
After the Presidency, Grant settled down for what he and his family hoped would be a quiet, successful life. His involvement and investment with a crook, however, left the Grant family almost totally penniless - and at practically the same time he learned he had cancer of the throat.
In a valiant race against time, Grant agreed to pen some articles for Century magazine. Mark Twain caught wind of this, and urged Grant to write a book of memoirs. In the one year of life remaining, and all too often in great pain, Grant didn't write one book - but a two-volume set of memoirs that are regarded not just a classic of war, but of U.S. History and Literature as well. He proved to be a winner once more, finally writing the last sentences of the memoirs less than 2 weeks before he died.
These Memoirs flow with great descriptive writing of events, battles, and characters. While there are no really "legendary" moments that pop out at the reader, i.e., Lee and the wounded Union soldier at Gettysburg, for example, all of the moments written, of friends who came to prominence in the Mexican war, and some who,like his protege, General McPherson, later died, are gripping ones. His description of the love and respect he had for Abraham Lincoln is touching. As in the description of what took place at Appomattox Court House.
A must set of books essential to all Americans who loved their country and respect their history.
I was presented with the limited leatherbound first editon 2 volume set as a gift from my parents, something I will always treasure (I can only guess whom they might have belonged to) I can heartily recommend the Konecky and Konecky hardbound volume, or this modern library edition that I am reviewing here. The print is better in the Konecky volume, but either way, this is one book that belongs in your library - and for your children.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Moving
Review: A must read for all Civil War buffs and those even remotely interested in history. The 600+ pages in this book (both volume I and II are included together) articulately spell out the military career of one of the United States' greatest generals. Grant's Memoirs are well-written, thoughtful, insightful, and offer more than a glimpse into the mind of U.S. Grant.Volume I opens with a heartfelt preface where Grant explains how his diminishing health pushed him to complete this work and "asking no favor but hoping (his remarks) will meet the approval of the reader." They most definitely do. Following the preface, the reader is given a (very) short review of his early childhood, life at West Point, and early Army life. The next one hundred pages are dedicated to the Mexican War followed by his resignation from the military and civilian life in Illinois. The remainder of Volume I and all of Volume II extensively deal with the War Between the States. I found Volume I (written before Grant realized he was critically ill) to be rich in detail of the various military campaigns (perhaps too detailed) and his ascension through the military ranks, but it is somewhat lacking in personal observations and insights. It even drags at times--but stick with it. The patient reader will not be dissapointed. Volume II hurls the reader into the conflict, reads rapidly, and is rife with Grant's personal observations and insights. This second volume picks up where the first left off--following Vicksburg to the campaigns in Tennessee to the Battle of the Wilderness to Sherman's March to the Sea to the Battle of Franklin right up to Appomattox and all the events of April and May 1865. These campaigns are told from the commanding general's perspective with great overview and detail. However, what really makes Volume II (and this volume is much more fast paced than the first) special are all the personal observations and insightful (rarely negative and always humble) comments about those Grant served with and against. Grant is thoughtful and displays much about himself as this great book draws to a close. An eloquently written, detailed, first-person account of the Civil War that offers much to those who read it. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: "Drummer boy, beat your skin with a passion unrivaled!"
Review: awesome book! i recommend it, etc. and so-forth. i cannot add to what other reviewers have said about it. the purpose of this typing is to clear up an issue in a previous review. mark twain did not ghost write this book with grant. grant wrote it by himself. if you're interested in the fascinating grant/twain friendship, read "Grant and Twain : The Story of a Friendship That Changed America," by Mark Perry, AFTER having read the grant memoirs. happy reading, righteous dudes.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and readable memoirs
Review: Grant here gives a consistently interesting account of his role in many of the major campaigns of the Civil War. His prose is clear and his accounts of battles and strategies quite readable, even to those without particular expertise in military history. He sticks to the story, making few attempts to even scores with his numerous critics in the Army or the press. One thing that should be noted is that these 'personal memoirs' are in many ways remarkably impersonal. There is only a quite brief account of Grant's youth, and his wife, to whom he was apparently quite devoted, is barely mentioned. Grant tells the story of his career as an officer with increasing levels of responsibility, but says little about himself. Also, the memoirs end with the assassination of Lincoln, and do not at all discuss his presidency. The edition I read was lacking in maps, which was a serious drawback, however it was a different edition than the one discussed here. Because so much of the book focuses on the tactics of specific campaigns, a good set of maps is a very valuable addition, and would be advisable to check for in any edition you consider reading or buying.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent and readable memoirs
Review: Grant here gives a consistently interesting account of his role in many of the major campaigns of the Civil War. His prose is clear and his accounts of battles and strategies quite readable, even to those without particular expertise in military history. He sticks to the story, making few attempts to even scores with his numerous critics in the Army or the press. One thing that should be noted is that these 'personal memoirs' are in many ways remarkably impersonal. There is only a quite brief account of Grant's youth, and his wife, to whom he was apparently quite devoted, is barely mentioned. Grant tells the story of his career as an officer with increasing levels of responsibility, but says little about himself. Also, the memoirs end with the assassination of Lincoln, and do not at all discuss his presidency. The edition I read was lacking in maps, which was a serious drawback, however it was a different edition than the one discussed here. Because so much of the book focuses on the tactics of specific campaigns, a good set of maps is a very valuable addition, and would be advisable to check for in any edition you consider reading or buying.
Rating: 
Summary: A terrible, boring book
Review: Grant is, as others have said, a lucid writer, and though he might have been a great military mind, he is neither a visionary nor an intellectual. The vast bulk of his memoirs recount the Mexican and Civil wars and thus are interesting primarily from a military standpoint. Anyone seeking more will not only be disappointed, he or she will be extremely bored, as Grant troubles himself to recount most troop movements of the war.
Rating:
Summary: This amazing man's amazing book
Review: I have been a history 'buff' all my life, and read what I thought were some of the best books about and set in the American Civil War. But until I read Ulysses Grant's Personal Memoirs, that wasn't true. I would never have believed that a career soldier and a very misunderstood, under rated US President could write such a fascinating, enthralling memoir of a time in our history we all think we know all we need to know.
If you haven't read this wonderful book yet, I'm going to be bold and say you don't really know what the war was like for the men who fought in it, led the men who fought in it, and who drove themselves, as Grant did, for the sole purpose of perserving the Union and ending the war as swiftly as humanly possible. His insights are invalueable for the time, and his humor and pathos are electrifying.
A reviewer on the back of this volume says it most clearly: Grant writes his memoirs so vividly, so humanly that you are on the edge of your seat the whole way through, waiting to see how the Civil War ends!
And perhaps most amazing of all, Ulysses Grant wrote and revised and finished the manuscript for this book in the winter and spring and early summer of 1885, while he was dying of throat cancer. Also, he wrote it not to aggrandize himself, but to help his family, when bad business partners bankrupted the former President and Victor of the Civil War.
This is a must read as far as I'm concerned for anyone who wants to understand that time and understand why the American Civil War was the transforming event of the American 19th century.
Rielle
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Books Available on the Civil War
Review: I have never been much of a Civil War fan, but after reading "The Killer Angels" by Shaara, a historical fiction about Gettysburg, I was interested in following up with some non-fiction about the most important event in US History. This book kept me turning the pages from end to end. Despite its bulk (some 618 pages) I simply couldn't put the book down, as Grant's matter-of-fact description of the events that surrounded him was completely engrossing. Grant was not an extraordinary man or brilliant tactician, his soldiers did not have the same obsession with him that the South held for Lee, he simply saw the war for what it was, a campaign against a rebellion. He looked at the entire war in its entirety, from battlefront to battlefront, and he repeatedly used that to his advantage. Many times he makes reference to deploying troops to no clear end other than to occupy an enemies flank, this often as a junior with no authority over the battle as a whole. Grant was a man of action, who realized he had to take a step in order to walk a mile. He took the battle to the enemy, divised clear and necessary steps which were needed to win the war as a whole. He was a general who did not just see the war as independent sets of battles, but saw those battles as a means to ending the Civil War. One of my favorite parts of the text was watching the scope of Grant's vision widen. Starting with his actions in the Mexican American War his vision is very limited: he sees only the immediate battle, and his descriptions focus on minutiae reflecting his low rank. His vision escalates with his rank, until the end of the book, with the surrender of Lee, he sees and describes the entire army, and battles that would have once taken chapters to described are now dismissed in single sentences. My one disappointment with the book was that it ended with the surrender of Lee at Appomatox. I would have liked to learn more about his actions after the war, and especially learned more about his presidency. I wish that there were similar autobiographies by other presidents, and certainly feel that this one elevated my expectations of all other autobiographies! Favote Excerpts: "It is men who wait to be selected, and not those who seek, from whom we may always expect the most efficient service." - Grant (page 368) "All he wanted or had ever wanted was some one who would take the responsibility and act, and call on him for all the assistance needed, pledging himself to use all the power of the government in rendering such assistance." - Grant on Lincoln (page 370) "Wars product many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true." - Grant (page 577) "To maintain peace in the future it is necessary to be prepared for war." - Grant (page 614) "The war begot a spirit of independence and enterprise. The feeling now is, that a youth must cut loose from his old surroundings to enable him to get up in the world." - Grant (page 616)
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