Rating: 
Summary: Short Lessons on Leadership
Review: I have also reviewed "Robert E. Lee on Leadership," and that book contrasts with this one in style. The Lee book, written by H.W. Crocker, is divided into several chapters of about 20 pages or so which give an in depth biological analysis of Lee in certain situations followed by a short statement of what the leadership lessons are. The "Grant" book, on the other hand, is divided into many short episodes of only about a page or two with a brief analysis of the lesson. Obviously, the Grant book seeks to provide lessons from a much larger variety of situations, but, in doing so, biographical background is a little sketchy. Still, with 250 leessons, the short biographical materials add up to an interesting glimpse into the attributes of General Grant. Because this book is broken up into many short sketches, it reads very quickly. I recommend this to both executives interested in leadership in the business world and to Civil War buffs interested in an alternate way of studying the life of one of the conflict's great leaders.
Rating:
Summary: Short Lessons on Leadership
Review: I have also reviewed "Robert E. Lee on Leadership," and that book contrasts with this one in style. The Lee book, written by H.W. Crocker, is divided into several chapters of about 20 pages or so which give an in depth biological analysis of Lee in certain situations followed by a short statement of what the leadership lessons are. The "Grant" book, on the other hand, is divided into many short episodes of only about a page or two with a brief analysis of the lesson. Obviously, the Grant book seeks to provide lessons from a much larger variety of situations, but, in doing so, biographical background is a little sketchy. Still, with 250 leessons, the short biographical materials add up to an interesting glimpse into the attributes of General Grant. Because this book is broken up into many short sketches, it reads very quickly. I recommend this to both executives interested in leadership in the business world and to Civil War buffs interested in an alternate way of studying the life of one of the conflict's great leaders.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat Interesting But Superficial
Review: I read this immediately after finishing U.S. Grant's Personal Memoirs. Mr. Kaltman's book lessons and examples are almost entirely taken from that source. Some of the several hundred management lessons the author extracts from Grant's masterpiece provide interesting insight. Many are, however, superficial, obvious or an outright stretch. I found some that drew lessons belied by a deeper and fuller knowledge of the historic example of Grant from which the author sought to extract his "evidence." Actually, my impression was that this book would be more useful to a young reader who had a cursory knowledge of history and was looking for a framework for decision making. For serious managers, I suggest reading Grant's Personal Memoirs. Not only great history, but Grant's skilled and honest telling of his Civil War story is accessible and provides many direct lessons buttressed by a much deeper set of facts. In fact, I plan to keep Grant's Personal Memoirs on my "Manager's Shelf."
Rating: 
Summary: A great book on managing, leading and facing life's issues!
Review: Identical to the book on leadership using Robert E. Lee, Kaltman has taken issues faced by Ulysses S. Grant and placed them in similar context. Issues managers and people in general face are brought forth on how to deal with adversity, changes, demands, employees and other popular concepts are clearly written. Kaltman has put together a great book in regards to managing work related and also non-work related issues that can be very beneficial to anyone. The book is a rather quick read and covers many topics or situations Grant faced that could be represented towards leadership scenarios from his early beginnings to after the war. This book is full of great insight and lessons to be learned from either failures or successes that Grant went through. Many people can benefit from reading this facinating book on leadership and take what they learned and use it in everyday life. 5 STARS!!!
Rating:
Summary: A great book on managing, leading and facing life's issues!
Review: Identical to the book on leadership using Robert E. Lee, Kaltman has taken issues faced by Ulysses S. Grant and placed them in similar context. Issues managers and people in general face are brought forth on how to deal with adversity, changes, demands, employees and other popular concepts are clearly written. Kaltman has put together a great book in regards to managing work related and also non-work related issues that can be very beneficial to anyone. The book is a rather quick read and covers many topics or situations Grant faced that could be represented towards leadership scenarios from his early beginnings to after the war. This book is full of great insight and lessons to be learned from either failures or successes that Grant went through. Many people can benefit from reading this facinating book on leadership and take what they learned and use it in everyday life. 5 STARS!!!
Rating:
Summary: Life Lessons Worth Learning
Review: In and after his life, Ulysses Grant was greatly underappreciated. The same fate should not befall his current champion, Al Kaltman. His brilliant book not only paints a fascinating picture of the general who kept the American states united, it draws from his life a set of invaluable instructions I wish I could have read twenty years ago. Kaltman's maxims range from the seemingly obvious but too often ignored to the sublime wisdom gained only by great managers such as the author and Grant--wisdom that is absolutely invaluable and usually jealously guarded. The length of the book can be intimidating at first, especially for those with hectic schedules or little patience. But I found it to be anything but ponderous. The book is fast-paced, a brisk and delightful read. I have given copies to several grateful friends, and highly recommend that you pick one up for yourself. You will regret only that you did not do so sooner, and be left wondering if the author can be persuaded to share more of his hard-earned sagacity with those of us still struggling to learn the lessons he effortlessly teaches.
Rating:
Summary: Useful Actions and Mistakes to Avoid for Winning Performance
Review: In many ways, this is an outstanding book. It occasionally veers off to give bad advice for business leaders (never coopeate with the competition), or I would have given it a five star rating. Unless you believe that the best way to learn is to make your own mistakes, you will find this book a useful guide to learning from Grant's errors, those of his opponents, superiors, and subordinates. As one CEO told me, "I don't get much out of all those books about perfect performance. I like to read about what can and does go wrong, and how to avoid it." This is that kind of book. I normally avoid books about the leadership lessons of some famous person. I usually find such books to be too generalized from a slim factual base, incorrectly analyzed, or simply too narrow. Why not read a book about what all the best leaders do? I made an exception for this book because it came as a gift from a man I admire greatly who has been a big success both as a military and as a business leader. That was all the recommendation that I needed. I am glad that he chose to share the book with me. If there ever was a successful leader with feet of clay, it was Ulysses S. Grant. In 1861, he was working as a clerk in his father's leather goods store in Illinois, after having failed in his first military career. In 1865, he was leading a million men under arms. Later, he became a two-term president in an administration wracked with scandal. Throughout his life, he was dogged by rumors of being an overimbiber in whiskey. Caught with a cigar in his hand in a famous photograph, admirers sent him thousands of cigars. He may have smoked more of them than he should, since he died at 63 of throat cancer. I read Grant's Memoirs (which I also recommend to those who like this book) a number of years ago, and remember ticking off lessons in my mind as I read his comments. In many cases, miscommunications caused enormous opportunities to be missed in the Civil War on the Union side. Also, misjudging of character caused the wrong person to be put in positions of trust. Mr. Kaltman does a good job of keeping all this in perspective, and essentially writes a commentary to go along with the historical events and Grant's review of them in that memoir. Each of the 250 in the book are two pages or less in length, and many are less than a page. So you can learn something even if you only have 2 minutes to spare. I was immediately impressed, and was soon caught up in the examples. The book is laid out chronologically, but each period in Grant's life is focused on a primary lesson of that period. For example, Grant boldly marched up to Fort Donelson early in the war and easily took the fort. He did so knowing his opponent from prior military service, and correctly estimating that the Confederate general would quickly fold. That section is summarized as "Know Your Competition" and covers the period from November 1861- April 1862. Here are some of the other sections and key examples (space does not permit me to cover them all): Seize Opportuntities (April 1822-August 1848) -- Grant put a cannon in a bell tower to command the enemy lines during the battle of Mexico City in the Mexican War. Turn Mistakes into Training Opportunities (April-November 1861) -- Raw troops failed to keep sentry duty, for which they would normally have been executed. Grant told them not to do it again, or they would be. See the Total Picture (April 6-7, 1862) After horrible losses on the first day at Shiloh, Grant realized that a counter-attack would carry the day even though the Union forces had even lost their tents and spent the night in a pouring rain. His orders then carried the day. Don't Scatter Your Resources (April 1862-January 1863) His superior officer, General Halleck, moved slowly and spread his men out. Grant was put on the defensive as a result. Shatter Paradigms (January-October 1863) With help from the Navy, grant took Vicksburg. He also learned to live from the local land, rather than from a fixed base of supply. This used up resources that the Confederate army would otherwise have received. Pounce on Your Competitors' Blunders (October 1863-March 1864) This describes how Grant relieved the pinned down forces at Chattanooga when the Confederates failed to take full advantage of their position on Lookout Mountain. Always Do What's Right (February-December 1865) Grant watched that he always acted properly with regard to both the political powers and toward the surrendering Confederates. The Quintessential Grant is summarized in 12 points at the end. In an addendum about Grant's presidency, the author points out that Grant did not follow the same good practices as a politician that had served him well as a general. It makes you wonder if the habits were really ingrained, or inspired by the mortal risk that his men were under. Good luck in using these lessons to "get superior performance from ordinary people."
Rating:
Summary: Useful Actions and Mistakes to Avoid for Winning Performance
Review: In many ways, this is an outstanding book. It occasionally veers off to give bad advice for business leaders (never coopeate with the competition), or I would have given it a five star rating. Unless you believe that the best way to learn is to make your own mistakes, you will find this book a useful guide to learning from Grant's errors, those of his opponents, superiors, and subordinates. As one CEO told me, "I don't get much out of all those books about perfect performance. I like to read about what can and does go wrong, and how to avoid it." This is that kind of book. I normally avoid books about the leadership lessons of some famous person. I usually find such books to be too generalized from a slim factual base, incorrectly analyzed, or simply too narrow. Why not read a book about what all the best leaders do? I made an exception for this book because it came as a gift from a man I admire greatly who has been a big success both as a military and as a business leader. That was all the recommendation that I needed. I am glad that he chose to share the book with me. If there ever was a successful leader with feet of clay, it was Ulysses S. Grant. In 1861, he was working as a clerk in his father's leather goods store in Illinois, after having failed in his first military career. In 1865, he was leading a million men under arms. Later, he became a two-term president in an administration wracked with scandal. Throughout his life, he was dogged by rumors of being an overimbiber in whiskey. Caught with a cigar in his hand in a famous photograph, admirers sent him thousands of cigars. He may have smoked more of them than he should, since he died at 63 of throat cancer. I read Grant's Memoirs (which I also recommend to those who like this book) a number of years ago, and remember ticking off lessons in my mind as I read his comments. In many cases, miscommunications caused enormous opportunities to be missed in the Civil War on the Union side. Also, misjudging of character caused the wrong person to be put in positions of trust. Mr. Kaltman does a good job of keeping all this in perspective, and essentially writes a commentary to go along with the historical events and Grant's review of them in that memoir. Each of the 250 in the book are two pages or less in length, and many are less than a page. So you can learn something even if you only have 2 minutes to spare. I was immediately impressed, and was soon caught up in the examples. The book is laid out chronologically, but each period in Grant's life is focused on a primary lesson of that period. For example, Grant boldly marched up to Fort Donelson early in the war and easily took the fort. He did so knowing his opponent from prior military service, and correctly estimating that the Confederate general would quickly fold. That section is summarized as "Know Your Competition" and covers the period from November 1861- April 1862. Here are some of the other sections and key examples (space does not permit me to cover them all): Seize Opportuntities (April 1822-August 1848) -- Grant put a cannon in a bell tower to command the enemy lines during the battle of Mexico City in the Mexican War. Turn Mistakes into Training Opportunities (April-November 1861) -- Raw troops failed to keep sentry duty, for which they would normally have been executed. Grant told them not to do it again, or they would be. See the Total Picture (April 6-7, 1862) After horrible losses on the first day at Shiloh, Grant realized that a counter-attack would carry the day even though the Union forces had even lost their tents and spent the night in a pouring rain. His orders then carried the day. Don't Scatter Your Resources (April 1862-January 1863) His superior officer, General Halleck, moved slowly and spread his men out. Grant was put on the defensive as a result. Shatter Paradigms (January-October 1863) With help from the Navy, grant took Vicksburg. He also learned to live from the local land, rather than from a fixed base of supply. This used up resources that the Confederate army would otherwise have received. Pounce on Your Competitors' Blunders (October 1863-March 1864) This describes how Grant relieved the pinned down forces at Chattanooga when the Confederates failed to take full advantage of their position on Lookout Mountain. Always Do What's Right (February-December 1865) Grant watched that he always acted properly with regard to both the political powers and toward the surrendering Confederates. The Quintessential Grant is summarized in 12 points at the end. In an addendum about Grant's presidency, the author points out that Grant did not follow the same good practices as a politician that had served him well as a general. It makes you wonder if the habits were really ingrained, or inspired by the mortal risk that his men were under. Good luck in using these lessons to "get superior performance from ordinary people."
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting premise
Review: It's amazing that Kaltman takes a military genius (but financial disaster) such as Ulysses S. Grant and magically transforms him into an example for busisnessmen. Poor Grant must be revolving in his grave. The premise of this book is to take pithy and brief remarks from Grant and relate them to the business world. It's an interesting premise and an extremely flawed one. Grant's genius was in writing and on the field of battle, not in making money or advising those grappling on the corporate ladder. However, the book does have merit if it introduces the sublime character of Grant to average people with little or no interest in history. Serious historians will laugh off this sophomoric book, but managers might actually learn something about one of the greatest and most underrated figures in American history. Grant was an intensely honest, moral and highly intelligent man and reading his words can only enhance anyone's character, even those whose only interest is in chasing the almighty dollar.
Rating:
Summary: A quick and easy guide to management style.
Review: Leadership, as learned from the experiences of U. S. Grant, is an excellent source of quick advice on management style and technique. This book should be on everyone's desk.
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