Grant: A Biography
by William S. McFeely
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Book Summary Information
Author: William S. McFeelyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-09
ISBN: 0393323943
Number of pages: 608
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Book Reviews of Grant: A Biography
Book Review: "A man like Ulysses Grant, who knew what it was to have a business fail, to lack money to pay bills, to be out of work..."
Summary: 5 Stars
Grant is a figure who has snaked in and out of my consciousness of Civil War history without ever becoming more than an icon. My father had a picture of him at home-- a great admirer. Before reading this book, if I thought about him at all, then it was the image of a quiet ordinary man with slouched shoulders around the campfire. A general much more than a president.
McFeely's 1982 biography of Grant won both the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the Francis Parkman Prize (for the best non-fiction book on an American theme). It is still one of the most admired of the Grant biographies, although it also has (apparently inevitably in history) many detractors. Most of the levied criticism seems to boil down to McFeely's lack of admiration for his subject and an ongoing argument amongst historians about how far to rehabilitate Grant's image as a President. I suppose that this kind of discussion is inevitable, if you consider the number of troubling issues over which is administration provided: Native American affairs, the reconstruction of the south and the rights of the newly freed African Americans, the panic of 1873. There were plenty of difficult decisions to be navigated and many associated political axes to grind, and that hasn't changed to this day.
Happily, this reader is not well enough versed in any of the historical bunfights to have a horse in that particular race. I found the McFeely biography balanced and quite human. Grant is a fascinating character-- a life-long failure until the war gave him a chance to shine; an ordinary man who was never quite comfortable or at home in what he perceived as the halls of the great. McFeely is unsparing of Grant's mistakes, but quite generous as to Grant's intentions. I found myself with a great deal of affection for the President, and a sense of deep regret for opportunities missed during the post-war period. It illuminated a period of history for me of which I knew very little, and opened up a world of subjects for further reading.
Very glad that I read the biography. Really interesting and well-written. I appreciated the Selected Bibliography, and only wish that it had been annotated or categorized.
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