Ulysses S. Grant Biography: The Man Who Saved the Union - Civil War Hero & Reconstruction President | American History Books for Military Enthusiasts & History Buffs

I have read four of H. W. Brands' previous books and although I have enjoyed each I have mostly ranked Mr. Brand's just below some of my favorite authors. I have found Brand's books are serviceable to his subject but I sometimes wish he had a better flair for storytelling and perhaps a novelist's eye for narrative. None up until this volume has been much of a page turner. It may be the meeting of subject here, General and President Grant, or my reaction to the subject... but I found Brand's latest book his best and a really enjoyable, readable, and a tremendously interesting narrative of Grant's life, the history of his time, and his impact on our Nations progress towards civil rights for all. (I am aware there are some other highly regarded recent biography's on Grant. I have not read these so cannot make a comparison. I can only but recommend this volume highly.)Brands keeps his chapter short and wraps each in an event in Grants life, or an event that will lead Grant's destiny towards it. Many of these are failures by others, from poor Union Generals to the disaster that was the Andrew Johnson Presidency. Brands expands the scope of his book without over burdening it by including concurrent history, a bit of analysis, many brief biographies of principles and Grant's difficult relationship with a father who apparently held Grant's promise with little regard. Grant appears to have been, much like Truman a failure at anything to do with business or investing. But what he did have was character, leadership and the ability to inspire with empathy. A rather lost event to US History classes is how Grant as President took on the KKK and tore down its influence for decades to come. (It is a pity that for years after leaders failed to follow Grant's example.)As with any history or biography there are usually much relevance to our current history and culture. Our roots go deep into our past and revisionism seems to make people forget the sacrifice of so many to unsure the freedom for so many they would never meet and were yet unborn. Thank our inherent good luck as a nation to have had a Lincoln and a Grant when we needed them.