Skip to content
Description
By: Ron Chernow
The #1 New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2017
“Eminently readable but thick with import . . . Grant hits like a Mack truck of knowledge.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant.
Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman, or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow shows in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.
Before the Civil War, Grant was flailing. His business ventures had ended dismally, and despite distinguished service in the Mexican War he ended up resigning from the army in disgrace amid recurring accusations of drunkenness. But in war, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign, and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Along the way, Grant endeared himself to President Lincoln and became his most trusted general and the strategic genius of the war effort. Grant’s military fame translated into a two-term presidency, but one plagued by corruption scandals involving his closest staff members.
More important, he sought freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race.” After his presidency, he was again brought low by a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, only to resuscitate his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre.
With lucidity, breadth, and meticulousness, Chernow finds the threads that bind these disparate stories together, shedding new light on the man whom Walt Whitman described as “nothing heroic... and yet the greatest hero.” Chernow’s probing portrait of Grant's lifelong struggle with alcoholism transforms our understanding of the man at the deepest level. This is America's greatest biographer, bringing movingly to life one of our finest but most underappreciated presidents. The definitive biography, Grant is a grand synthesis of painstaking research and literary brilliance that makes sense of all sides of Grant's life, explaining how this simple Midwesterner could at once be so ordinary and so extraordinary.
Named one of the best books of the year by Goodreads • Amazon • The New York Times • Newsday • BookPage • Barnes and Noble • Wall Street Journal
The #1 New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2017
“Eminently readable but thick with import . . . Grant hits like a Mack truck of knowledge.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic
Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant.
Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman, or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow shows in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.
Before the Civil War, Grant was flailing. His business ventures had ended dismally, and despite distinguished service in the Mexican War he ended up resigning from the army in disgrace amid recurring accusations of drunkenness. But in war, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign, and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Along the way, Grant endeared himself to President Lincoln and became his most trusted general and the strategic genius of the war effort. Grant’s military fame translated into a two-term presidency, but one plagued by corruption scandals involving his closest staff members.
More important, he sought freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race.” After his presidency, he was again brought low by a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, only to resuscitate his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre.
With lucidity, breadth, and meticulousness, Chernow finds the threads that bind these disparate stories together, shedding new light on the man whom Walt Whitman described as “nothing heroic... and yet the greatest hero.” Chernow’s probing portrait of Grant's lifelong struggle with alcoholism transforms our understanding of the man at the deepest level. This is America's greatest biographer, bringing movingly to life one of our finest but most underappreciated presidents. The definitive biography, Grant is a grand synthesis of painstaking research and literary brilliance that makes sense of all sides of Grant's life, explaining how this simple Midwesterner could at once be so ordinary and so extraordinary.
Named one of the best books of the year by Goodreads • Amazon • The New York Times • Newsday • BookPage • Barnes and Noble • Wall Street Journal
You may also like
熱銷中 Top Trending
Dragon Masters #28 (正版) Night of the Dream Dragon (Branches) (Tracey West)
Sale priceHK$48.00
Regular priceHK$69.00
In stock
InvestiGators: Agents of S.U.I.T. #03: Wild Ghost Chase
Sale priceHK$69.00
Regular priceHK$140.00
In stock
Billy and the Mini Monsters #17 Monsters Go Back to School
Sale priceHK$55.00
Regular priceHK$98.00
In stock
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One & Two Playscript (J.K. Rowling)
Sale priceHK$80.00
Regular priceHK$130.00
In stock
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Sale priceFrom HK$49.99
Regular priceHK$100.00
In stock
InvestiGators: Agents of S.U.I.T. #02: From Badger to Worse
Sale priceHK$79.00
Regular priceHK$99.00
In stock
Pip and Posy (正版) Collection (Books with Audio QR Code)(Axel Scheffler)
Sale priceFrom HK$249.00
Regular priceHK$671.00
In stock
Dragon Masters #26 (正版) Cave of the Crystal Dragon (Branches) (Tracey West)
Sale priceHK$48.00
Regular priceHK$69.00
In stock
Billy and the Mini Monsters #16 Monsters at Easter
Sale priceHK$47.00
Regular priceHK$84.00
In stock
96 Facts About the G.O.A.T. Athletes (Greatest of All Time)
Sale priceHK$46.00
Regular priceHK$70.00
In stock
Warriors Series 1 The Prophecies Begin Collection (Paperback) (6 Books) (Erin Hunter)
Sale priceHK$329.00
Regular priceHK$599.00
In stock
Bunny vs Monkey #05 Rise of the Maniacal Badger (UK)
Sale priceHK$85.00
Regular priceHK$130.00
In stock
Dragon Masters #24 (正版) Dawn of the Light Dragon (Branches) (Tracey West)
Sale priceHK$48.00
Regular priceHK$54.00
In stock
Cat on the Run Episode 1 Cat of Death! (Aaron Blabey)
Sale priceHK$50.00
Regular priceHK$80.00
In stockRecently viewed
His Dark Materials #2 The Subtle Knife (Paperback) (Philip Pullman)
Sale priceHK$67.00
Regular priceHK$76.50
In stock