Ron Chernow

[Grant] by [[Ron Chernow]]
I did it. I've been reading this for what feels like forever and I finally finished!

Chernow's exhaustive biography of Grant that just came out this year was an amazing reading experience. It's long - 960 pages of text, 1104 total - but surprisingly readable. Chernow works systematically through Grant's life: his childhood, days at West Point, experience in the Mexican War, a brief and unsuccessful foray in civilian life, extensive coverage of the Civil War, his 2 show more terms as President, and his civilian life and travels, and brutal fight with cancer as he wrote his autobiography at his end of life.

Throughout the book, Chernow explores Grant's struggle with alcohol and his naivety as far as trusting people with money and positions who he shouldn't have. His relationship with Lincoln is front and center in the book and also with one of his most trusted Generals, Sherman. The Civil War period is fascinating and his shift to being a strong supporter of black rights during the war and especially during Reconstruction was admirable and somewhat outside of his time.

I came away with a deep understanding of Grant as a leader and a man. I found him to be an admirable, intelligent, and courageous person. I had always pictured him as the Civil War hero who was elected to the Presidency sort of by default, based on his military reputation. But I actually think he was the best possible choice for the country as it embarked on Reconstruction. Though it didn't work the way Grant had hoped, his intentions were good and he was up against almost insurmountable odds.

Though it was a huge time commitment, I'm so glad I read this and highly recommend it to anyone interested in American history.

Original publication date: 2017
Author’s nationality: American
Original language: English
Length:1104 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Format/Where I acquired the book: library kindle
Why I read this: interested in the topic/like the author show less

I learned so much about Grant and his period in history through reading Chernow’s thorough and sympathetic biography of the man. I realized that I was short-changed in my high school history classes, which glossed over the Reconstruction era. I was shocked to learn of the atrocities inflicted on former slaves and ashamed to learn how most Northerners turned their back on them after winning the war. We had a real chance to improve race relations in this country then and we blew it. We’re show more living with the consequences still. I knew Grant was a war hero. I did not realize that he tried, perhaps not hard enough, but he did try to integrate African Americans into free society show less

This is an extraordinary piece of writing about an extraordinary man. The brief references to Ulysses Grant that I have encountered before never conveyed the deep significance of his life for the nation at its most endangered time. The combination of military genius, unshakable honesty, commitment to the welfare of African-Americans, love for ordinary life, and tragic inability to see the flaws in others makes for a riveting story. All of it against the backdrop of the momentous changes in show more the 19th century, which brought the US out of colonial obscurity to the national stage. show less

You can spend $20 for the hard cover edition of Ron Chernow's biography, Alexander Hamilton, and easily spend months leisurely reading this massive tome, or you could blow $250 on a ticket and spend 2 hours taking in the hottest musical on Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, inspired by the book. I chose the former and while I did not tap my feet or hum along to the 700+ pages, I did learn an incredible amount about this remarkable "bastard, orphan, son of a whore" to quote some less show more than savory lyrics from the show. Hamilton's entire life is covered, from his hard scrabble boyhood in Nevis/St. Croix to his adulthood in the colonies and eventual United States of America. Though his life was cut short at 49, there is plenty to write about because Hamilton's life was brief by today's standard but prolific and accomplished. The man was a workhorse. But Chernow's book is long also because Hamilton, though central, is not the only character. There's plenty of space on other founding fathers (Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Washington) as well as minor politicians, Hamilton's family, and of course his nemesis, Aaron Burr. Chernow is a fair biographer, pointing out Hamilton's foibles, poor judgment, personality flaws. But he clearly admires him. In the end, you are left feeling and believing that he was a man of unearthly intelligence, indefatigable work ethic, incredible productivity, and perhaps most important to Hamilton himself, honor, integrity, and love of country. The same does cannot necessarily be said about other heroes of the American Revolution portrayed here. show less