GRANT

Rating:
Summary: Smith is fine at giving us the big picture . . .
Review: . . . yet sometimes the details remain elusive. I have a feeling that readers heavily steeped in Civil War action will not be as charitable to this biography as others, because in places the narrative seems to come off the rails in a noticeable way. Perhaps our expectations are too high, for we have been waiting for a masterful view of Grant's actions, policies and inner thoughts during the years of the War. Oddly enough, in my opinion, Grant's inner life during the previous Mexican War is something that Smith has more of a handle on, and this section is written quite well. If only all of the book had been like this!

However, Smith recoups with a thorough account of Grant's presidency and writing career, if you can call it that, and yet what else is one to call a spate of writing that produced the magnificent PERSONAL MEMOIRS? We revere Grant for his bravery not only on the field of battle but in the shadows of private life, in adversity he showed his truest colors. Thanks to Jean Edward Smith, we now have a convincing overview of a roundly emulable man.

Rating:
Summary: Great One Volume Biography
Review: A terrific, readable book about one of America's most underrated heroes. I now understand much better Grant's personality, motivations, moral code, and intellectual capabilities. I also think I understand why his historical reputation has been smeared. Most of the late 19th century historians who set the tone for his reputation were the effete, intellectual types (e.g. Henry Adams) who cared more about his social class and homespun style than his accomplishments, sense of honor and capabilities. Had he not been martyred at war's end, they probably would have done the same thing to Lincoln.

This book not only greatly informed me about Grant the man, but also convinced me that our country owes a significant debt to Grant, both as a soldier and a president.

Rating:
Summary: Grant: the "enlightened" President?
Review: As a true son of the South, I took a deep breath when I plunged into my first Grant biography. I must admit I completed Mr. Smith's effort with a new appreciation for this wonderfully flawed man. The sections on Grant's formative years and the Civil War chapters move with a nice pace. Smith's inspection of ol' Sam's days in the Executive Office offer a different twist - he portrays Grant as a near-"enlightened" leader, witnessed by Grant's attempts to ease relations with various Indian factions, as well as attempting to champion the burdens of the freedmen. He does, quite fairly, take Grant to task for the myriad of scandals left at his doorstep. Well done, and a nice intro into any further study of "Unconditional Surrender...

Rating:
Summary: A Profile in Courage
Review: Before reading Jean Smith's "Grant", I was taught and believed that Grant was the "worst President in United States history". Nonsense. With the exception of business failures mostly early in life, and a greatly exaggerated drinking problem, his life was a model of success and conviction. As a young soldier in Mexico with an abundance of personal physical courage, and under the tutelidge of Winfield Scott and Zachory Taylor, he learned and honed leadership skills that would serve him well in the future American Civil War. As eventual General in Chief of the Union army, he was one of the very few Union leaders, excepting Abraham Lincoln, who understood that victory would require total war and total destruction of the Confederate army. McClellan did a superb job of training the Union army, but Grant made it fight. However, his magnamnity at Appamattox began the healing process for a bloodied, divided nation, a process that otherwise would have been prolonged or postponed. As President, his greatest character flaw, if it can be called that, was placing trust in others to the point of naievity. At a time when such was not popular, he stood for the rights of American Indians and the freed slaves. Reconstruction, for better or worse, survived largely through his efforts and those of his lieutenants in the South. Once Grant adopted a course he felt was right and just, he pursued it with a conviction and a tunnel-vision that bordered on fanaticism. Personally modest, he was indifferent to both flattery and criticism. He championed a strong dollar and a sound fiscal policy. Ill-served by certain members of his government, his presidency is unjustly remembered as corrupt and the "worst presidency" in US history. For those readers wanting a moderately detailed first or second "look" at Ulysses Grant, I highly recommend Smith's "Grant".

Rating:
Summary: A Good One Volume Revelation
Review: Contrary to other views, I liked this work. It was a little compact for such a large topic, but I have no intention of devoting much more of my reading time on U.S. Grant. I have no interest in his alleged drinking problem and even less time to be concerned about his nearness to graft and corruption. Graft and corruption are not new and still go on and probably always will. "Grant" is a good introduction to the Civil War and its aftermath, particularly Reconstruction and the bibliography is helpful in leading one to additional materials in a variety of related topics. The footnotes are great and the text notes were even better. Smith was very good about explaining things of the latter 19th century from a 21st century perspective. He was especially good at revealing Grant the person/human. I have a much better appreciation of Grant than I did before. Thanks for the opportunity to vent.

Rating:
Summary: He's back!!
Review: For years Grant's career has been devalued by sore losers from the South, military nerds who love tactics but have no understanding of the area Grant excelled in (Grand strategy), post Viet Nam flower children and just generally uninformed hacks. Smith gives Grant his balls back and lets us have a glimpse at this "most underrated American." Thank you, Mr. Smith.

Rating:
Summary: Grant
Review: Grant was not just a great general, he was a great man & a great leader. Smith's book is engrossing and helps illuminate this central, too long overlooked figure in the American Story. The true story of U.S. Grant reads like a fable. One can only wonder at the stuff men were made of then and what wimps we are now. A stunning book.

Rating:
Summary: U.S. Grant: Revisited and Redefined
Review: GRANT, by Jean Edward Smith, is an excellent treatment of an American President and general whose reputation has been sadly soiled by historians over the years. The author's style is very easy to read and hold's the reader's interest well. The work is heavily footnoted with primary and secondary sources.

Most Americans, think of Ulysses S. Grant (if they think of him at all) as a good general who battered Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia into submission, then went on to become a mediocre President leading an inept and corrupt administration. The author lays to rest these common misconceptions, showing Grant to be a dynamic wartime general and an honest, if naïve, President dedicated to civil rights, fairness, and a sound economic policy.

Jean Edward Smith lays out his case for rethinking Grant's life from the very beginning, painting a portrait of a hard-luck man who never gave up his integrity and who learned the value of perseverance the hard way when every venture he touched turned into a money loser in the 1850s.

As the Civil War engulfed the nation in 1861, Grant, a former Army Captain, tried to offer his services to the Illinois militia and almost did not get a commission in the ranks of the volunteers.

Grant rose steadily through the ranks because he fought, confidently taking the war to the South and never shrinking from danger.

As the Civil War came to an end at Appomattox, General Grant dealt generously with the defeated Rebels. Radical Republicans and some of the press decried his leniency, preferring instead to see the Confederate leaders tried for treason and hung. This spirit of forgiveness was a constant in Grant's life and would serve greatly in binding up the nation's wounds, especially in the aftermath of President Lincoln's assassination.

If leading armies in combat seemed easy for Grant, then his adroit maneuvering between Washington's competing interests during the tumultuous years of Andrew Johnson were astounding. During Johnson's term in office, Grant was General-in-Chief. In this role, he commanded the Army during the initial phases of Reconstruction - a task that Johnson was determined to short circuit, making peace with the Southern white elite by sacrificing the newly freed slaves on the alter of political expediency. Grant would have none of this and he labored mightily to prevent the South from sliding back as if the Civil War was never fought.

As President, Grant tried to move Reconstruction forward again. Black Americans voted at percentages higher in the elections of 1870 and 1872 than they would for the next 80 years. Eventually, Southern white resistance and Northern apathy would force Grant to accept what he could, with a coalition of Democrats and liberal Republicans determined to paper over white repression and violence on blacks in the South.

If Grant's bravely standing up for the rights of the freedmen in the South seems surprising to an American reader in the early 21st Century, then his polities towards the American Indians were even more so. Grant, the ultimate man of war, sought to make peace with the American Indians. His peace policies initially worked. He even named a former Army subordinate and full-blooded American Indian to be the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Grant pushed through reforms at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, seeking to reduce the corruption that prevented relief from getting to the reservations by appointing Christian missionary organizations to replace political appointees.

In both his policies regarding the civil rights of African Americans in the South and the treatment of American Indians, Grant displayed political courage and steadfastness. It's sad we do not hear more of this side of Grant the President today.

Rating:
Summary: U.S. Grant: Revisited and Redefined
Review: GRANT, by Jean Edward Smith, is an excellent treatment of an American President and general whose reputation has been sadly soiled by historians over the years. The author's style is very easy to read and hold's the reader's interest well. The work is heavily footnoted with primary and secondary sources.

Most Americans, think of Ulysses S. Grant (if they think of him at all) as a good general who battered Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia into submission, then went on to become a mediocre President leading an inept and corrupt administration. The author lays to rest these common misconceptions, showing Grant to be a dynamic wartime general and an honest, if naïve, President dedicated to civil rights, fairness, and a sound economic policy.

Jean Edward Smith lays out his case for rethinking Grant's life from the very beginning, painting a portrait of a hard-luck man who never gave up his integrity and who learned the value of perseverance the hard way when every venture he touched turned into a money loser in the 1850s.

As the Civil War engulfed the nation in 1861, Grant, a former Army Captain, tried to offer his services to the Illinois militia and almost did not get a commission in the ranks of the volunteers.

Grant rose steadily through the ranks because he fought, confidently taking the war to the South and never shrinking from danger.

As the Civil War came to an end at Appomattox, General Grant dealt generously with the defeated Rebels. Radical Republicans and some of the press decried his leniency, preferring instead to see the Confederate leaders tried for treason and hung. This spirit of forgiveness was a constant in Grant's life and would serve greatly in binding up the nation's wounds, especially in the aftermath of President Lincoln's assassination.

If leading armies in combat seemed easy for Grant, then his adroit maneuvering between Washington's competing interests during the tumultuous years of Andrew Johnson were astounding. During Johnson's term in office, Grant was General-in-Chief. In this role, he commanded the Army during the initial phases of Reconstruction - a task that Johnson was determined to short circuit, making peace with the Southern white elite by sacrificing the newly freed slaves on the alter of political expediency. Grant would have none of this and he labored mightily to prevent the South from sliding back as if the Civil War was never fought.

As President, Grant tried to move Reconstruction forward again. Black Americans voted at percentages higher in the elections of 1870 and 1872 than they would for the next 80 years. Eventually, Southern white resistance and Northern apathy would force Grant to accept what he could, with a coalition of Democrats and liberal Republicans determined to paper over white repression and violence on blacks in the South.

If Grant's bravely standing up for the rights of the freedmen in the South seems surprising to an American reader in the early 21st Century, then his polities towards the American Indians were even more so. Grant, the ultimate man of war, sought to make peace with the American Indians. His peace policies initially worked. He even named a former Army subordinate and full-blooded American Indian to be the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Grant pushed through reforms at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, seeking to reduce the corruption that prevented relief from getting to the reservations by appointing Christian missionary organizations to replace political appointees.

In both his policies regarding the civil rights of African Americans in the South and the treatment of American Indians, Grant displayed political courage and steadfastness. It's sad we do not hear more of this side of Grant the President today.

Rating:
Summary: Giving an underrated President due praise
Review: Have you ever felt grief when you finished reading a book because you didn't want the story to end? That's how I felt when I finished Smith's biography of Grant. I couldn't help feeling deep sympathy for Grant, who endured such hard times both in his personal and his public life. I can't claim to have been a Civil War buff, but I learned much about the tactics of the Union and Confederate generals in the war. I also appreciate Grant now as a brave advocate for black freedmen and for Native Americans. Smith provides scholarly documentation yet tells the story smoothly and with great feeling. This book is just great reading -- try it!