Grant

Inesquecível. Uma história de vida inspiradora e contada com riqueza de detalhes. A ascensão de um homem resiliente e detentor de uma moral ímpar.

Extraordinario! Si leyeron las memorias de Grant, este libro está visto desde la versión de muchas otras personas, principalmente corrrespondencia de allegados. Este libro lleva a Grant a niveles muy superiores a los que el mismo se clasificaba. Sin duda fue quien dio continuidad a los peoyectos de Lincoln.

Ron Chernow is already stablished as the biographer of the XIX century America. His books on Washington, Hamilton, Grant, Rockefeller and Morgan can be read as the great chronic of politics and finance of the nation in the making. Some of those books are slightly better than others, yet they form an admirable, already essential, opus, and this precise one, the life of Ulysses Grant, ranks high in this little great canon.General (later President) Grant is one of the great men of the XIX century America, or perhaps of recent history. The man was a celebrated soldier, an excellent writer, twice President of the USA and a figure made a model of perseverance, strong will and stoicism - one of the more recognizable recent authors of the said stoicism, Ryan Holiday, had Grant as one of his central examples in his celebrated (and multi-million seller) "The Obstacle is the Way". Ulysses Grant was also a good husband and doting father. And then an alcoholic and a poor (a very poor) business man, who in spite of his evident success, was always in the verge of bankruptcy.All the previous is in the book, in a tale that runs through the best part of the XIX century and which has as secondary characters President Lincoln and Queen Victoria, amongst others. The tale is well told, the ups and downs of the man well drawn and the story flows. The event that made Grant - the American Civil War - is in the book, but as a background, secondary to the General who won it. At the end, we know a lot of a fascinating character, and also much on a fascinating country, still looking for its place in the world. The book is deeply researched and well written, with the trade-mark, almost recognizable, magnificent sober prose of Mr Chernow, making its 900 plus pages to go quick.Only a small flaw, a moot. The book sides too much with its subject. The author obviously admires its main character (who doesn't), but he shows the admiration too much. After every mistake made by Grant comes not only the explanation, but the justification. It paints a too neat of a picture of an evidently flawed man. Making his flaws clearer wouldn't have made Grant worse, only more human.

Having read Ron Chernow's biographies of Washington, Hamilton, and now Grant, I am committed to reading Chernow's next irrespective of who the subject is. "Grant" is terrific. It is an enjoyable book, very readable with amazing insights into the character and challenges that Grant faced throughout his life. It is not a love letter; it is balanced - critical, sympathetic and admiring. "Grant" is incredibly well-researched and yet does not bog the reader down with every little fact, piece of data, and anecdote that Chernow discovered. Rather he shares information to tell his story."Grant" is 959 pages, 43 chapters, four Parts. Some maps and photos; I wish there had been more. I found that 25 pages a day was just the right pace for me, and I looked forward each day to savoring the next 25. In my own mind I thought of the book as having five parts: the Early years, the Civil War years, the four years before his Presidency, the two terms as President, and his final years. Obviously, the second and fourth parts (Civil War, Presidency) form the biggest chunks of the story and together they make an interesting comment on Grant's life and accomplishments. Here is a man who made tremendous contributions to his country in two roles, one in saving the Union as the General of the U.S. Army in the Civil War, and secondly as President of the US in eight of the most difficult years of our country's history. Reflect back on our 45 Presidents and you will not find many who can make the same claim, not even Lincoln.EARLY YEARS So you think you know Grant? Then you probably realize he fought in the Mexican War, had a drinking problem, and was a store clerk when the Civil War started. But you may not realize Grant never really wanted to go to West Point; his father pressured him and even sealed the deal with a last minute favor from a Congressman. Grant was not a top student at West Point, nor mid-range for that matter. He was best at horsemanship and he earned widespread recognition from classmates for those skills. Many of his schoolmates became fellow in the Mexican War then surfaced again in the Civil War. Grant was a much better student in the battlefield - he studied and understood his fellow officers and came to learn their strengths and weaknesses, more importantly how they were likely to act alongside him or facing him. Much of Grant's war experience in Mexico was as a quartermaster, and he had to learn to provision for his Army, in a foreign country no less, especially how to maintain supply lines. This experience proved to be invaluable training for the War to come. Grant's drinking became a big issue during the War. There were many stories, some exaggerations, some lies. Chernow makes the point that for the most part Grant was an occasional drinker, someone who may go months without a drink, then binge for two or three days. And someone who had difficulty refusing a drink, someone who once started wouldn't stop. My initial reaction to the extensive emphasis on the drinking was that it was overdone. But it is a critical part of Grant's history and in following this story the reader must learn to deal with it. In this first section, there is a lot of personal history as well. Naturally there is a fair amount about wife Julia, the children and the difficulty in earning money for everyone's upkeep. But what I particularly enjoyed were the anecdotes about Grant's father, the abolitionist, and Grant's father-in-law, the slave owner. Interesting that although he detested his son-in-law, Col Dent accepted President and Mrs. Grant's offer to live with them in the White House and remained fiercely loyal to the Confederacy during his years there.CIVIL WAR YEARS I have been a casual student of the Civil War; I have read several books, watched video courses and programs, and visited battlefields (Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Gettysburg - I have resided in Virginia for the past 35 years). Almost all of the focus has been battles fought in the East. I have found that most Civil War treatments pay very little attention to what was going on in the "West" (essentially along the Mississippi and states along its eastern bank) except to position those battles as Grant's stepping stone to eventual leadership of the Union army. In "Grant" Chernow details these battles magnificently - Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga. Throughout Grant is portrayed as action oriented, ready to attack. Yet calm, steady, reflective - the battles have been planned to the nth degree. Occasionally, Union forces took a first battle day licking, but always were prepared to do the unexpected. On day two his army would regroup quickly and attack early the next day. Grant was a winner and he was fiercely loyal to Lincoln, and quickly becomes a Lincoln favorite. With his early string of victories U. S. Grant becomes Unconditional Surrender Grant. The only terms are his, but they are unexpectedly fair and gracious - all the way to and including Appomattox. Meanwhile Grant continues to also battle his drinking problem and jealous fellow officers over whom Grant is being promoted. Ultimately Grant is given responsibility for the whole of the Union Army and moves eastward. He immediately meets with Sherman and Sheridan to develop a multi-prong attack on Confederate forces from Virginia to Georgia. Grant begins his push against lee driving Lee southward away from Northern Virginia and Washington DC toward Richmond. I have read and studied several accounts of this portion of the War and none have been as riveting and exciting as Chernow's account. For me, this was the most exciting and enjoyable part of the book.RECONSTRUCTION BEGINS One of the biggest surprises for me in "Grant" was to learn of the marked improvements Grant made to the welfare of African-Americans. The biggest contributions began during the War years when newly freed slaves marched behind the Union Army following victories; Grant permitted this to ensure their safety and continuing freedom. He later created African-American fighting units; this was strongly opposed by many in the military as well as the government, especially in arming these soldiers with guns and rifles. During the early reconstruction years incredible numbers of blacks were slaughtered in southern states out of hatred and fear of ultimate voting power. Although he was subsequently criticized for doing too little, too late, Grant dispatched troops to those states with the most violence, especially Louisiana. Eventually, the KKK was disbanded (only to resurface years later). Grant, became a huge hero, idolized in the press, particularly in the victorious North, but he was respected in the South as well especially for his humane treatment of the Confederate forces at Appomattox. This created big problems for President Andrew Johnson, of course, as he saw Grant only in terms of a likely opponent in the next election. Forgive the pun, but their relationship quickly went South....as did Johnson's career. Lots of good history here, particularly about how horrible was the violence directed at African Americans during this time, how Grant was among the first whites to look at the black man as an equal, and how Grant slowly evolved from a military man to a political one.PRESIDENT GRANT Concerning Grant's presidency, Chernow quotes fellow historian Richard N. Current: "...he made a greater effort to secure the constitutional rights of blacks than did any President between Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson." Per Chernow, "Current... also saw Grant as the most underrated American President". Yet Grant certainly had his ups and downs as President. While he had many first term accomplishments - suppressing the Klan, reducing the post-war, swollen national debt, initiating reform of civil service and reducing the graft associated with contracts for Indian trading posts, settling a touchy ship sinking issue with England, appointing many blacks, Jews, Indians and women to government positions, and contributing to a general sense of peace and prosperity. He also had some black marks including charges of cronyism in his hiring and clumsy efforts to annex Santo Domingo. Nevertheless he was elected to a second consecutive term, the only president to do so between Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt. There were a number of scandals in his second term dealing with schemes to cheat the government of tax revenues, e.g. the Whiskey Ring. Grant never profited from these crimes but he was slow to accept that close friends had manipulated him to obtain critical positions. But once he understood the full depth of these crimes and certain individuals' guilt he quickly disassociated himself from them and demanded justice. In the midst of these scandals, a five year depression began in 1873, resulting in high unemployment and blame assessed by the press and opposition. Grant's popularity took a significant hit for the rest of his term.FINAL YEARS At the conclusion of his second term, tired and bitterly disappointed in the direction that the new administration of President Rutherford B. Hayes, Grant decided on a world tour, a tour that would last more than two years. He was feted in seemingly all the capitals of Europe and Asian. His hosts were the Who's Who of International government and diplomacy of the mid nineteenth century: Gladstone, Disraeli, Queen Victoria, Garibaldi, King Leopold II, French President MacMahon, Pope Leo XIII, KIng of Greece, King Umberto I, von Bismarck, Czar Alexander II, Prince Kung of China. It was fascinating to read the many anecdotes of personal meetings and subsequent opinions from both sides, most favorable, but some not. And the public worshipped him. For example, as Grant departed England at Newcastle 150,000 came to the docks to see him. Mostly working people, cheering wildly. Grant had never been a comfortable speaker. As President, he would scratch out his own comments and read them in an almost inaudible monotone. Incredibly, his skills improved significantly on his tour, though he never grew to enjoy the experience. Once he returned home he gave considerable thought to his future, particularly his finances. In those days, the President did not receive a pension. Grant had some investments yet once again, he was swindled, this time by a young financial wizard who used Grant's name to build an enormous pyramid which eventually collapsed; Grant lost everything. About this time, Grant was diagnosed with throat cancer, perhaps not surprising since he smoked up to two dozen cigars a day, and often chewed on an unlit one for hours. To provide income for his wife after his passing Grant agreed to write his memoirs, published by Mark Twain. Sales were expected to be huge and door to door salesman canvassed for orders. It became a race against the clock; it was close. Grant won.An excellent book. The New York Times had the good sense to put it on their 2017 recently released 100 notables list. I have read others by Chernow, all have been very, very good. I will read whatever he writes next.

著書にインスパイアされたブロードウェイミュージカルが大ヒットして以降、一躍時のひとになった感のあるロン・チャーナウ。本書が出版されたときＰＢＳニュースアワーに出演しインタビューを受けていたことが記憶に新しい。で、本書の感想だが、正直うーんという感じ。どうもあまりに正統派の偉人伝でありすぎるような気がするのだ。ユリシーズ・グラントが偉人であることは間違いないが、例えばアレクサンダー・ハミルトンとは“すごさ”の種類が違う。ハミルトンは正真正銘の天才。一方グラントは、東部戦線に回されたらリー将軍にきりきり舞いさせられ、大統領になったらなったで政権内で汚職が横行するなど、どう考えても軍人、政治家としては二流だろう。しかし、南北戦線なかったら一生うだつの上がらなかったはずの男が、時と所を得て実力以上の業績を挙げてしまった―彼の“すごさ”はそこにある。それなのに、本書は叙述がまっとうな偉人伝であるためにその“すごさ”が伝わらず逆に能力的な“しょぼさ”ばかりが目立ってしまったような感があるのだ。もっと別のアプローチはなかったのだろうか。例えば、グラント将軍と言えば、アルコール依存症の疑惑が生涯付きまとった人。著者はことあるごとに色んな人の証言を挙げ、そのイメージの払拭に努めているが、逆に僕はそれらを読んで彼がアルコール依存症だと確信を抱いてしまった。しかし、たとえ飲んだくれであったとしても、彼はここぞという時には判断を誤らず、自軍を勝利に導いた。その背後には人並外れた克己心と使命感があったはずだが、それは、変に持ち上げるよりも、駄目な所は駄目だと痛烈に批判した方が逆に浮かび上がったような気がするのだが、いかがだろうか。まあ、それは僕個人の感想。浩瀚な資料を駆使して、グラント将軍の一生、ひいては南北戦争の経緯を描いた第一級の著作であることに異論はない。また、数々の興味深いエピソードが収録されていることもこの本のいいところ。僕は、ウエストポイント士官学校に始めて入学した黒人少年の辿った運命が強い印象が残った。公正と平等はあくまでも理想であって、どこの世界でも実現の道のりは遠いらしい。ロン・チャーナウの文章は時々独特の言葉遣いがあるので「ハミルトン」「ワシントン」は読むのに骨を折った記憶があるが、本書は随分と平易になったような気がする。外国人の書いた伝記にあまり外れはないがこれもその一つ。