Rating: 
Summary: MUST-READ for any aspiring manager/leader!!!
Review: A very inciteful and interesting analysis of Grant's leadership/management techniques. The format (one-page, example + lesson learned) makes for easy reading and recall.Anyone in a leadership/management position will not be able to put this book down - a bargain at < $20.
Rating:
Summary: More than Meets the Eye
Review: Among the hallmarks of greatness is the ability to make the complex look simple; hence, Joe DiMaggio and Ch'i Pai-shih, both of whom performed with an economy and simplicity that, to some, masked the talent and discipline that were the soul of their craft. Add to the roster Al Kaltman, who is a genius.
Rating:
Summary: One can learn and teach from this book.
Review: An extremely well-rounded book. A very common sense approach to just about every aspect of leadership. Very informative. Too bad more leaders today, both in the military and in the business world, don't apply these simple, common sense techniques when dealing with real world issues.
Rating: 
Summary: Author's Comments
Review: Cigars, Whiskey and Winning is a different kind of management book. There are no chapters on communication, discipline, empowerment, etc., no lists of management dictums, no acronyms and no jargon. The lessons are short (about a page) and easy reading. I followed Grant's footsteps from boyhood through the end of the Civil War, and for each incident in his life I developed a practical modern management lesson. Cigars, Whiskey and Winning is also a Civil War source book. We see the war unfold through Grant's eyes, and we learn the lessons in the sequence that he learned them. While the lessons are serious stuff, many of them are based on humorous incidents, which keeps the book bright and lively. The first lesson, Bureaucrats Do The Dumbest Things, tells the story of how young Hiram Ulysses Grant arrives at West Point and discovers that he has been registered under the wrong name. The army bureaucrats don't care what he, his parents, family or friends think his name is, the official government form has his name as Ulysses S. Grant and only if he changes his name to that will he be able to attend. What makes Grant so fascinating is that he is the embodiment of the American dream. When the Civil War starts, he has known failure and poverty and is living in obscurity. If all he had done was to come out from behind the counter in his father's leather goods store to lead the Union armies to victory, that would be a great story. But he did more than that, he set a standard for integrity, personal honesty and ethical conduct that deserve to be studied. Leadership is achieving extraordinary results with ordinary people. I hope that this book helps leaders at all levels to do just that.
Rating:
Summary: An exceptional approach to learning about leadership
Review: Drawing on Grant's memoirs and other writings, the author presents 250 valuable lessons about leadership and management from the life of this famous general. The conclusion offers a dozen overriding management principles. The book is an ingenious approach to providing insights about leadership interwoven with glimpses into the life of this colorful civil war leader who greatly shaped history. The events of Grant's life give this work a vivid quality and make it enormously absorbing as well as informative. If you seek knowledge about the nature of leadership and also enjoy the adventure of history, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Much better than I thought it would be
Review: Forgive me for judging a book by its cover, but I really thought this one would be a sleeping pill. Brother, was I wrong. I don't read managerial guidebooks because the usual "real-world" examples they provide bore me. This book, on the other hand, overcomes that barrier. Its far more interesting to read about Grant's decisions in battle, and the managerial lessons learned from it, than anything Donald Trump or Bill Gates has done. I highly recommend this a solid and consice biography of Grant as well as being the best management guide to ever come down the pike. After you've read it straight through once, you'll want to keep a copy of it on your desk to browse through during lunch hour. The only thing I take exception to is the title. Too much has been made about Grant's supposed drinking problems and he doesn't deserve to be remembered as a "hard drinker" or an alcoholic, which he wasn't. I would have substituted the word "whiskey" for "whittling," since Grant was seen undertaking that calming activity during the heighth of the battle of the Wilderness. It suits Grant's real personality better.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than I thought it would be
Review: Forgive me for judging a book by its cover, but I really thought this one would be a sleeping pill. Brother, was I wrong. I don't read managerial guidebooks because the usual "real-world" examples they provide bore me. This book, on the other hand, overcomes that barrier. Its far more interesting to read about Grant's decisions in battle, and the managerial lessons learned from it, than anything Donald Trump or Bill Gates has done. I highly recommend this a solid and consice biography of Grant as well as being the best management guide to ever come down the pike. After you've read it straight through once, you'll want to keep a copy of it on your desk to browse through during lunch hour. The only thing I take exception to is the title. Too much has been made about Grant's supposed drinking problems and he doesn't deserve to be remembered as a "hard drinker" or an alcoholic, which he wasn't. I would have substituted the word "whiskey" for "whittling," since Grant was seen undertaking that calming activity during the heighth of the battle of the Wilderness. It suits Grant's real personality better.
Rating:
Summary: First in War but Then....
Review: Here is another of the "leadership lessons from" volumes which seem to be published in an ever-increasing number. I was curious to know what Kaltman had to say about one of our nation's most successful generals who is also generally viewed as one of our least successful Presidents. The bulk of the book focuses on Grant the general but Kaltman adds a brief section in which he attempts to place Grant the President within an appropriate historical context. The material is organized within 11 chapters, ranging from "Seize Opportunities: April 1822-August 1848" to "Always Do What's Right: February-December 1865." Kaltman then provides a Conclusion ("The Quintessential Grant") and an Addendum (The aforereferened "Grant's Mismanaged Presidency"). The net result is much more than a portrait of Grant. Indeed, Kaltman has carefully examined all manner of primary sources from which he has selected what he considers to be those "leadership lessons" which are most relevant to our own time. (I wish he had included a Bibliography.) At the heart of this book is an essential paradox: the same leadership principles and strategies which enabled Grant the general to achieve great success are precisely the same which (for various reasons which Kaltman suggests) Grant rejected or failed to use while serving for two terms as President. I am among those who consider Grant's Personal Memoirs a literary masterpiece as well as one of the most valuable historical accounts of the American Civil War. Therefore I was not in any way surprised by the eloquence of Grant's remarks which Kaltman generously and skillfully includes together with appropriate comments by others best-qualified to comment on Grant, both in terms of his military leadership and qualities of personal character. With regard to the title of this book, Kaltman shares three quotations from those who had direct association with Grant. One observer noted that Grant "smokes almost constantly" and the most famous is of remarks by President Abraham Lincoln concerning Grant's fondness for whiskey ("...if it made fighting generals like Grant I should like to get some of it for distribution"). However, the remarks which I found most revealing were made by Robert E. Lee to a professor at Washington College where Lee served as president after the Civil War: "Sir, if you ever presume to speak disrespectfully of General Grant in my presence, either you or I will sever his connection with this university." I urge those who share my high regard for Kaltman's book to read or re-read Grant's Personal Memoirs.
Rating:
Summary: First in War but Then....
Review: Here is another of the "leadership lessons from" volumes which seem to be published in an ever-increasing number. I was curious to know what Kaltman had to say about one of our nation's most successful generals who is also generally viewed as one of our least successful Presidents. The bulk of the book focuses on Grant the general but Kaltman adds a brief section in which he attempts to place Grant the President within an appropriate historical context. The material is organized within 11 chapters, ranging from "Seize Opportunities: April 1822-August 1848" to "Always Do What's Right: February-December 1865." Kaltman then provides a Conclusion ("The Quintessential Grant") and an Addendum (The aforereferened "Grant's Mismanaged Presidency"). The net result is much more than a portrait of Grant. Indeed, Kaltman has carefully examined all manner of primary sources from which he has selected what he considers to be those "leadership lessons" which are most relevant to our own time. (I wish he had included a Bibliography.) At the heart of this book is an essential paradox: the same leadership principles and strategies which enabled Grant the general to achieve great success are precisely the same which (for various reasons which Kaltman suggests) Grant rejected or failed to use while serving for two terms as President. I am among those who consider Grant's Personal Memoirs a literary masterpiece as well as one of the most valuable historical accounts of the American Civil War. Therefore I was not in any way surprised by the eloquence of Grant's remarks which Kaltman generously and skillfully includes together with appropriate comments by others best-qualified to comment on Grant, both in terms of his military leadership and qualities of personal character. With regard to the title of this book, Kaltman shares three quotations from those who had direct association with Grant. One observer noted that Grant "smokes almost constantly" and the most famous is of remarks by President Abraham Lincoln concerning Grant's fondness for whiskey ("...if it made fighting generals like Grant I should like to get some of it for distribution"). However, the remarks which I found most revealing were made by Robert E. Lee to a professor at Washington College where Lee served as president after the Civil War: "Sir, if you ever presume to speak disrespectfully of General Grant in my presence, either you or I will sever his connection with this university." I urge those who share my high regard for Kaltman's book to read or re-read Grant's Personal Memoirs.
Rating:
Summary: Concise, Helpful and Interesting
Review: I am regarded as good manager, have little time to read and no knowledge of the Civil War--when I received this book for Christmas I promptly put it on the shelf, and only began flipping through it two months later. Now I wish I had read it years ago. The lessons are concisely worded, and beautifully illustrated with examples from the life of a man who knew his fair share of hardships, successes and failures. It was refreshing to read a book on management written by a successful manager with useful advice for adults. Many of the management books that gather dust on my shelves are full of platitudes, cute little mice and invented quotes from fictional characters. Far more interesting to learn with the General who saved America than to speculate what a starship captain or a mouse might do at a board meeting. Grant could not rely on plot contrivances or cute beatitudes to save the Union; my respect for the author's skillful way of drawing lessons from each experience grew with each page. As did my respect for the apparently much under-appreciated Ulysses S. Grant (whose name was not actually Ulysses and if you want to know more read the book). In fact, I was inspired enough to go looking for the memoirs of the man. It's a 22-volume set, which I look forward to reading when I retire. The advice in Kaltman's book, however, will undoubtedly help me to reach a much higher level before I do.
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