Geoffrey Perret
Booknotes, Sunday, October 12, 1997
Geoffrey Perret discusses Ulysses S. Grant:: Soldier & President.
Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier & President by Geoffrey Perret, author of Old Soldiers Never Die, is a cradle to grave biography that covers every important aspect of Grant's life, both as soldier and president. Using new materials not seen by any contemporary writer—most notably 12 more volumes of Grant's papers and recently released material by the Grant family to the Library of Congress, Perret has presented the most comprehensive study of Grant the man, soldier, president and writer written thus far. Perret's central theme is that Grant was the greatest soldier the United States ever produced. His achievements in the military are so impressive that they dwarf his comparative failures as a president. But even in the White House, Grant had successes as well as disappointments. While Grant was plagued with financial scandals during his presidency, Perret writes that Grant was. in reality, a highly competent and conscientious chief executive. His administration brought honesty and competence to Indian affairs, made important advances in the development of international law, smashed the original Klu Klux Klan and transformed government finances. Ultimately Grant was not just a simple soldier, but a complex man with a remarkable literary gift, as displayed in the memoirs he wrote just before his death. In Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier & President, Perret provides the first biography of Grant that offers a full and convincing portrait of Grant the man. Perret gives an in depth look at Grant's youth on the frontier and his years at West Point. He writes of the thrilling battles Grant orchestrated and became so publicly famous for, of his years as President and his ultimate demise as a man penniless, trying desperately to finish his Personal Memoirs at the urging of Mark Twain. With Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier & President, Geoffrey Perret has written the first up to date biography of Grant, one of America's greatest military heros and the man behind the that public facade. —from the publisher's website (timspalding)… (more)
Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier & President by Geoffrey Perret, author of Old Soldiers Never Die, is a cradle to grave biography that covers every important aspect of Grant's life, both as soldier and president. Using new materials not seen by any contemporary writer—most notably 12 more volumes of Grant's papers and recently released material by the Grant family to the Library of Congress, Perret has presented the most comprehensive study of Grant the man, soldier, president and writer written thus far. Perret's central theme is that Grant was the greatest soldier the United States ever produced. His achievements in the military are so impressive that they dwarf his comparative failures as a president. But even in the White House, Grant had successes as well as disappointments. While Grant was plagued with financial scandals during his presidency, Perret writes that Grant was. in reality, a highly competent and conscientious chief executive. His administration brought honesty and competence to Indian affairs, made important advances in the development of international law, smashed the original Klu Klux Klan and transformed government finances. Ultimately Grant was not just a simple soldier, but a complex man with a remarkable literary gift, as displayed in the memoirs he wrote just before his death. In Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier & President, Perret provides the first biography of Grant that offers a full and convincing portrait of Grant the man. Perret gives an in depth look at Grant's youth on the frontier and his years at West Point. He writes of the thrilling battles Grant orchestrated and became so publicly famous for, of his years as President and his ultimate demise as a man penniless, trying desperately to finish his Personal Memoirs at the urging of Mark Twain. With Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier & President, Geoffrey Perret has written the first up to date biography of Grant, one of America's greatest military heros and the man behind the that public facade. —from the publisher's website (timspalding)… (more)
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