Book Description

Here in one volume for the first time are three individual titles - Angels, How to Be Born Again, and The Holy Spirit - from Billy Graham, the foremost evangelist of our time who has reached more people with the Gospel than any other person on earth. ... Read more

Book Description

"A fast-paced, highly readable narrative . . . stimulating biography."
--James I. Robertson

"I was impressed by the sweep and power of the narrative. Readers will find a Grant they never before encountered. A compelling book."
--John Y. Simon, editor, The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant

Not since Bruce Catton has there been such an absorbing and exciting biography of Ulysses S. Grant. "Grant is a mystery to me,"said Sherman, "and I believe he is a mystery to himself."Geoffrey Perret's account offers new insights into Grant the commander and Grant the president that would have astonished both his friends, such as Sherman, and his enemies.

Based on extensive research, including material either not seen or not used by other writers, this biography explains for the first time how Grant's military genius ultimately triumphed as he created a new approach to battle. He was, says Perret, "the man who taught the army how to fight."

As president, Grant was widely misunderstood and underrated. That was mainly because he was, as Perret shows, the first modern president--the first man to preside over a rich, industrialized America that had put slavery behind it and was struggling to provide racial justice for all.

Grant's story--from a frontier boyhood to West Point; from heroic feats in the Mexican War to grinding poverty in St. Louis; from his return to the army and eventual election to the presidency; from his two-year journey around the world to his final battle to finish his Personal Memoirs--is one of the most adventurous and moving in American history.

"What distinguishes this narrative are Perret's bristling style and his skillful blend of tactical analysis and conventional biography. . . . Perret persuasively presents a man who endured and conquered all: binge drinking, rivals, false friends, and even the cancer that could not stop him from completing his memoirs."
--Kirkus Reviews ... Read more

Reviews (42)

Facts? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Facts!
This book is truly an astonishing piece of work. Considering its grotesque factual errors and bizarre misreadings of source material (more than I have ever seen in a single work of non-fiction,) the pompous writing style, the author's grating tendency to make childishly snide (and irrelevant) side comments, and--most bafflingly--the remarkable hatchet-job he does on Grant's wife Julia, I think I can state unhesitatingly that this is the most thoroughly unprofessional biography of anyone I have ever read. I find myself genuinely baffled that Perret evidently still has a career as a historian.

As appalled as I am by the thought that readers who had no prior knowledge about Grant will be led to take some of this tripe seriously, I am even more stunned by reviewers who state unblushingly that Perret's allergy to accuracy does not matter, as long as he is pro-Grant and writes in what is, to them, an appealing writing style! There are few people who defend Grant more wholeheartedly than I do (hey, I even maintain he was a pretty good President,) but I believe that a bad defense of USG can, in the long run, be as damaging to his reputation as no defense at all. My advice to Grant neophytes? Read the man's own words, in his acclaimed memoirs and fascinating private letters, as well as first person accounts like "Campaigning With Grant," and give this silliness a wide berth.

And those cracks of his about Julia REALLY set my teeth on edge.

A Fabulous Biography
There are already several reviews of this book printed here, with which I agree heartily, so I'll keep my comments brief. Perret's "Ulysses S. Grant, Soldier and President," is the twelfth book on Grant that I've read (I can't seem to get enough of this topic). Perret's writing is crisp and intelligent. He doesn't drag out his thesis in long jumbled sentences, rather, he keeps his reader focused on the point he is trying to make on each phase of Grant's personal and professional life. He exposes flaws in previous Grant biographies by proving their lack of documented evidence and holding the authors to task for their shoddy scholarship. At the same time, he does not give the impression that he intends to "show up" other Grant biographers, he just sets the record straight.

I recommend this biography to anyone who wants to understand America in the Nineteenth century. Ulysses S. Grant is the key: he saved the Union, he fought for the rights of the freedmen during Reconstruction, he was always honest-though he did make his share of mistakes - and when he erred, he accepted the responsibility for his mistakes. Grant was a devoted family man, was loyal to his friends and forgiving of his enemies. He was humble and appeared ordinary, yet he achieved amazing things. Perret's most insightful point in this work is his statement that Grant's religion was patiotism. I agree. No one ever loved this country more.

Biography by American Military Historian Adds Perspective!
Geoffrey Perret's previous work, "A Country Made By War," which is a general military history of the United States, gives him the background to put the military career of Grant in perspective. He worked closely with the editor of Grant's papers to acquire the background to write this biography. His short chapters don't go into great details on individual battles, but capture well the development of Grant's personality, generalship, and presidency. J.F.C. Fuller's "Grant and Lee" and "The Generalship of Ulysses S. Grant" go into greater detail in analyzing the military strategy, strengths and weaknesses, of Grant's command both in the Western and Eastern theaters. But Perret's book is well worth reading. He captures the spirit of Grant well.

One of history's most enigmatic personalities.
This life of Grant is written with grace and verve and it sweeps the reader along from the first page - indeed it is hard to see how any single volume biography could accomplish more. At the end of it however - as at the end of all writings on and by Grant - one is still left bemused by the contradictions in this ostensibly simple, but in reality enormously complex personality. Grant did no less than win the most complex war yet fought by humanity, managing (a word that immediately comes to mind in regard to Grant) in the process unprecedented numbers of troops and mastering the deployment of new weapons systems - such as the river gun-boats - that emerged during the conflict. His tactical abilities grew to cope with exponentially rising sizes of forces and his strategic thinking was distinguished by clarity, courage and ruthlessness. His leadership was such as to carry both officers and men with him in acceptance of brutal solutions to terrible dilemmas. His embodiment of the Churchillian ideal of magnanimity in victory laid the foundations for the re-United States. Few men have carried such a heavy burden with such decency and generosity: power did not make him arrogant nor success dehumanise him. The Mexican War had already given indications of these qualities and yet after it Grant lapsed into virtual failure and demoralisation. The section of this book dealing with the years immediately preceding the Civil War are painful to read, offering an almost too-close insight into the near despair of a decent man unable - perhaps too proud - to find a role in a thrusting, money-grubbing and cut-throat civilian society. Only five years separate the almost penniless failure's humiliating appeal to his father for a job in the family leather store from the surrender-negotiation at Appomattox Court House, and three years more saw him President, albeit reluctantly. In the story of the White House years - and beyond - there is a strong impression of a man bored, part amused, part disgusted, by the pettiness of the scene around him. The set-backs and scandals of his administrations, none of which involved any hint of personal advantage to himself, seem ultimately to stem from an inner abdication. One gains a strong sense of a man who has confronted the absolute and who afterwards finds the relative unworthy of his energies or passions. Throughout this period he nevertheless continued to evoke huge loyalty and a third Presidential term could have been his in 1880, after Hayes' tenure, had he chosen to commit himself fully - but once again there is that impression of a man bored and distant. Only in the last terrible months of his life, enduring financial ruin and hideous pain, does Grant again rise to heroic status, not only producing his memoirs in extremis, but doing so with an elegance that make them an American classic. Nothing is simple in this story - not Grant's emotional and family life, his struggle with alcohol, his politics, his innate integrity - and least of all the origins of his military genius.

This complex, absorbing and inspiring story is well told by Mr.Perret, who finds the right balance between all major elements. The events, excitingly told though they may be, are not allowed to dominate, and Grant's personality is at all times at the centre of the narrative. Quotations are well chosen to enliven the text and there are dozens of illuminating vignettes to add colour and immediacy. The Civil War years are obviously at the heart of the book and Mr.Perret finds the correct balance between overview and detail in handling Grant's vast campaigns. A minor complaint must however be the shortage and low quality of the maps, essential for a work even at this level. A final point is that readers who come to Grant through this volume will delight in "The Armies of U.S.Grant" by James R.Arnold, which traces Grant's growth as a commander in considerable detail and which is also colourful, readable, and enlivened by memorable quotes from Grant and his contemporaries.

one of the very best biographies that I have ever rea
This is one of the very best biographies that I have ever read. In addition to being written in a lyrical prose, it offers a much needed corrective to the withering, and unfair, historical portrait that Grant has been stuck with. Let's face it, here's what most of us know about Grant: he didn't do much at West Point, was a failure in business, drank his way through the Civil War, winning only because he was willing to kill his own soldiers, oversaw one of the most corrupt Presidential administrations ever and died. The most important previous biography, William McFeely's Pulitzer Prizewinning Grant (1981), took a sufficiently negative view of Grant that it did little to change, and even reinforced, these received truths. Like almost all misrepresentations in History, there are kernels of truth in the portrait, but it leaves out much and Perret is able to convincingly challenge much of the rest of it.

Missing from that portrayal are Grant's fundamental decency as a man, his exemplary service in the Mexican War, his genuine strategic insight and at times nearly prophetic foresight (as when he offered to have a Cabinet member put his personal wealth in a blind trust), and his authorship of perhaps the best book written by a U. S. President (only Teddy Roosevelt can really challenge for the title), one of the great books of the 19th Century, his Personal Memoirs. Perret gives each of these the full treatment that it deserves and Grant's exceptional character and his control over his emotions and ego run like a leit motif throughout the book.

Perhaps more importantly, Perret takes on each of the negative characterizations that has accrued to Grant's reputation over the years. Grant did perform indifferently at the Military Academy, but Perret points out that simply attending college (and West Point was one of the best in the world) put Grant in the educated elite of his time. Moreover, besides being an exceptional and much envied horseman, Grant performed well in classes that interested him and went on to study military history and tactics for the rest of his life, developing a really fine analytical mind on military matters.

Grant did not do well in business, but he was scrupulously honest and as he first demonstrated as a quartermaster in the Mexican War, he was capable, even gifted, at managing materiel. Later when he was running the entire Union Army, he did so professionally and even brilliantly. It's hard to see how he can be faulted so heavily for bad luck running small businesses and given so little credit for managing what must have been one of the largest enterprises in human history up until that time.

Grant did drink, but there is no evidence that it ever effected the performance of his duties. Also, he drank only when he was lonely. Any time that his wife was in the vicinity he was a virtual teetotaler.

As to the manner in which he won the war, it seems increasingly possible to me that there were only three men on Earth who genuinely understood the dynamics of the Civil war as it was unfolding: Winfield Scott, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. Winfield Scott, as the War began, enunciated his Anaconda Plan, calling for the North to exploit its superior numbers and for Union troops to close off the Mississippi and then start squeezing the South like a rodent in the grip of a snake. But Scott was an old man by that time and was not capable of managing the effort. Lincoln knew that Scott was correct in his strategic vision, but it fell to him to keep the political plates spinning and to find the generals to carry out the plan. Destiny handed him the ideal instrument in U.S. Grant who grasped the vision and had the iron will to carry it out. If Grant was sometimes willing to suffer losses as the price of engaging the foe, he never wasted lives intentionally and was shattered by the occasions where men under his command did die futilely.

Finally, on the issue of the corruption in his administration, Perret makes one point that I found profound. Grant's administration was not any more corrupt than the ones that succeeded it, but the fact that it was more corrupt than the ones that preceded it has caused it to be seen as extraordinarily scandalous. And it was more scandal ridden, not because of anything intrinsic to Grant, but because one of the consequences of the War was that the Federal government had grown tremendously in size and there was simply more there to steal. Similarly, the explosive growth in the size of government in the past sixty years has been accompanied by an unending series of scandals regardless of administration.

In the end, whether or not Perret succeeds in winning all of these battles to reclaim Grant's reputation, he definitely does get the reader to take a step back and look at Grant with a fresh perspective. The Grant who emerges from this portrait is a genuine American hero and one of the most honorable and decent men ever to become President. This is an outstanding book and a valuable reassessment of a seemingly ordinary man who called upon his own extraordinary will to achieve great things and shape American history. Most highly recommended.

GRADE: A+ ... Read more

Book Description

Ulysses S. Grant was the first four-star general in the history of the United States Army and the only president between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson to serve eight consecutive years in the White House. As general in chief, Grant revolutionized modern warfare. As president, he brought stability to the country after years of war and upheaval. Yet today Grant is remembered as a brilliant general but a failed president.

In this comprehensive biography, Jean Edward Smith reconciles these conflicting assessments of Grant's life. He argues convincingly that Grant is greatly underrated as a president. Following the turmoil of Andrew Johnson's administration, Grant guided the nation through the post-Civil War era, overseeing Reconstruction in the South and enforcing the freedoms of new African-American citizens. His presidential accomplishments were as considerable as his military victories, says Smith, for the same strength of character that made him successful on the battlefield also characterized his years in the White House. ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Underappreciated Great American Hero
Ulysses S. Grant is my summer reading obsession for 2002. I began with his Memoirs, followed with Julia Dent Grant's Memoirs and put it all together with Jean Edward Smith's wonderful biography. Smith tells Grants story, the greatness along with the human weaknesses, with excellent clarity. His research is complete (all sources are meticulously noted) and follows the trail of rumors of Grants personal failings along with his great triumphs in war and peace.

Thanks to Smith's research and clear writing style, Grant's character is shown to the reader. He was certainly one of the greatest generals of all time, he was not a habitual drunk, and he was not an impotent President dragged down by constant scandals within his administration. In fact, the Grant presidency had its fair share of accomplishments that are often overlooked. Grant loved his family, defended his friends with total loyalty (sometimes blindly so) and always served his country as best he could; throughout his entire life.

Thank you Jean Edward Smith for bringing Grant's story back to our attention. This work is long overdue and will certainly cause many historians-and history buffs alike-to reexamine their appreciation for this great American.

Grant, the General and the President
Smith reexamines the military and political career of Ulysses Grant in this extensively researched biography. His step-by-step approach to Grant's military campaigns showing all the successes and failures of Grant's tactics makes for compelling reading and is an excellent look at Grant's pivotal role in the eventual end of the Civil War. Smith carefully examines Grant's relationships with his officers and Lincoln, giving the reader a true understanding of the political and military ramifications of all Grant's decisions. For this alone the book is well worth a purchase.
Smith is not quite as successful with his take on Grant's presidency. By portraying Grant as constantly well intentioned, but loyal to a fault to his variously inept or corrupt cabinet; Smith tries to show us a man who treasures loyalty above all else, but in essence, Grant is seen as politically naïve or even worse inept. Grant's belief that Reconstruction and American Indian rights were of vital importance is undercut by his refusal to remove men who cannot, or worse will not implement his plans. Smith could have more closely examined Grant's relationship with his wife, Julia; her influence on Grant should not be ignored. Overall the qualities of this biography outweigh any faults and it is easily one of the better biographies of a man who rarely got his just due.

U.S. Grant: Revisited and Redefined
GRANT, by Jean Edward Smith, is an excellent treatment of an American President and general whose reputation has been sadly soiled by historians over the years. The author's style is very easy to read and hold's the reader's interest well. The work is heavily footnoted with primary and secondary sources.

Most Americans, think of Ulysses S. Grant (if they think of him at all) as a good general who battered Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia into submission, then went on to become a mediocre President leading an inept and corrupt administration. The author lays to rest these common misconceptions, showing Grant to be a dynamic wartime general and an honest, if naïve, President dedicated to civil rights, fairness, and a sound economic policy.

Jean Edward Smith lays out his case for rethinking Grant's life from the very beginning, painting a portrait of a hard-luck man who never gave up his integrity and who learned the value of perseverance the hard way when every venture he touched turned into a money loser in the 1850s.

As the Civil War engulfed the nation in 1861, Grant, a former Army Captain, tried to offer his services to the Illinois militia and almost did not get a commission in the ranks of the volunteers.

Grant rose steadily through the ranks because he fought, confidently taking the war to the South and never shrinking from danger.

As the Civil War came to an end at Appomattox, General Grant dealt generously with the defeated Rebels. Radical Republicans and some of the press decried his leniency, preferring instead to see the Confederate leaders tried for treason and hung. This spirit of forgiveness was a constant in Grant's life and would serve greatly in binding up the nation's wounds, especially in the aftermath of President Lincoln's assassination.

If leading armies in combat seemed easy for Grant, then his adroit maneuvering between Washington's competing interests during the tumultuous years of Andrew Johnson were astounding. During Johnson's term in office, Grant was General-in-Chief. In this role, he commanded the Army during the initial phases of Reconstruction - a task that Johnson was determined to short circuit, making peace with the Southern white elite by sacrificing the newly freed slaves on the alter of political expediency. Grant would have none of this and he labored mightily to prevent the South from sliding back as if the Civil War was never fought.

As President, Grant tried to move Reconstruction forward again. Black Americans voted at percentages higher in the elections of 1870 and 1872 than they would for the next 80 years. Eventually, Southern white resistance and Northern apathy would force Grant to accept what he could, with a coalition of Democrats and liberal Republicans determined to paper over white repression and violence on blacks in the South.

If Grant's bravely standing up for the rights of the freedmen in the South seems surprising to an American reader in the early 21st Century, then his polities towards the American Indians were even more so. Grant, the ultimate man of war, sought to make peace with the American Indians. His peace policies initially worked. He even named a former Army subordinate and full-blooded American Indian to be the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Grant pushed through reforms at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, seeking to reduce the corruption that prevented relief from getting to the reservations by appointing Christian missionary organizations to replace political appointees.

In both his policies regarding the civil rights of African Americans in the South and the treatment of American Indians, Grant displayed political courage and steadfastness. It's sad we do not hear more of this side of Grant the President today.

Interesting Read About a Fascinating Man
In my humble opinion, Smith's biography of a great general and somewhat successful president is interesting and well-written. Granted, I have not read other Grant biographies or consider myself a scholar. However, I believe Smith has produced a good read.

Some of the more interesting aspects of Grant's life covered include:

1. Early childhood growing up in Ohio and other areas.
2. Unspectacular career at West Point.
3. Notable service during the Mexican War.
4. Frustrations due to slow promotion in the army and frequent separation from his family (the author asserts the latter resulted in his drinking problem).
5. Resignation from the army and subsequent failures in civilian employment.
6. Notable Civil War career, including battle descriptions of: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Appamattox.
7. His mixed record as president (success with civil rights for blacks and Indians, failure with several instances of corruption by those who took advantage of his trusting nature).
8. Herculean efforts to complete his memoirs just before he died and was able to provide financial security for his family.

I also found fascinating the political intrigue Grant had to deal with during his years as a Civil War general and as president. In most cases, Grant persevered while others fell.

I would have liked to have read more about his relationship with his wife and children since they apparently meant so much to him. For an area so vital to Grant's life, little is mentioned.

All in all, a recommended read!

Good not great
I read this book in my ongoing project of reading a biography on every President. I found this to be a good, but not great biography. Of course, a lot of that could do with the fact that Grant's Presidency is not recognized as that outstanding.

I enjoyed the description of Grant's military exploits, but I found some of the detailed descriptions of Civil War battles to bog down a little bit in the telling. I have read military history in the past and would like to see more maps accompanying it. I felt the same way about these battlefield descriptions. Somewhere in the middle of the battle I always lose who is where and who is charging up what hill and who is backed up against a river. It can get confusing.

I did like the description of Grant's role in the war in Mexico. Probably because it wasn't as detailed.

As for the description of his Presidency, it seemed to be relatively incomplete. It was almost if nothing significant really happened during his eight years in the White House. Maybe that was the case??

One thing I really wanted more of was Grant's thoughts and feelings on Lincoln's assassination. The writer didn't spend a lot of time on it. I wish he would have because it really is one of the most important things to happen in the history of the country and it just seemed like it deserved more time.

This was a pretty good book, but I would say I plan to read something else on Grant to try and fill in some of the blanks.

After reading it though, I have a lot more respect for Grant and wish the moral compass by which he lived by could be transplanted into some of today's leaders. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Gandhi close-up
This, by any standards, is a remarkable story of a remarkable man, and of course part of the history of India's struggle for independence. All this makes it a compelling read. Fischer details Gandhi's struggle against the South African government, and then the fight against British rule in India. But as important was the problem of Indian national identity - was there any such thing, and was the road to Partition inevitable?

I couldn't help but reflect that Britain was very fortunate in facing an adversary like Gandhi - the end of British rule might have been even more messy and bloody than it was had it not been for his influence. Could any other culture have produced a figure such as Gandhi, who recognised the damage that imperialism did both to India and to the British.

Fischer's biography was published originally in 1951, only three years after the death of Gandhi. This adds value to the work, not least because the author met Gandhi on a few occasions and was able to add accounts of these meetings enliven his book. To be fair, this is a much more balanced view of Gandhi than I expected. Although Fischer's writing comes close to the hagiographic at times, he manages largely successfully to avoid going over-the-top.

Perhaps what is lacking is a sense of distance and context. I was not looking for a biography which either attacked Gandhi or tried to debunk his reputation, but as he said himself, he was no saint. Perhaps a different biographer would have been able to assess Gandhi's role and influence (both in India and South Africa) more dispassionately.

But that is to quibble. This book is still well worth the read.

G Rodgers

A Great Book
Louis Fischer does his subject justice with a fine account of Gandhi's life. Despite the long duration of the Mahatma's struggle, the author keeps the book interesting pretty much throughout. Fischer's two first hand accounts of his meetings with Gandhi serve as a plesent break in the course of the book, giving it greater life, as well as providing a more personal insight into Gandhi. Thankfully the author remains well clear of blind adoration for the man, highlighting both his flaws and weaknesses. The only short coming is that the book was written before the rise of M.L. King and Nelson Mandela, thus fails to address the full influence Gandhi had and will have beyond India. Overall, I whole heartedly recommend this book of such an important subject, which was also the inspiration for the film. ... Read more

Book Description

Written by one of the world's most renowned critical educators, this book evaluates the message of Che Guevara and Paulo Freire for contemporary politics in general and education in particular. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

He's not Whine Bratzky for nothin'!
In an Sports Illustrated tribute issue on Gretzky, Rick Reilly claimed that getting him to talk about himself was like pulling teeth. Well, if that's the case, Gretzky must be wearing dentures!

He imagines the kids who played with and against him growing up hated him because of his God-given talent. He takes a perverse pride in impregnating his wife 4 months before their wedding. He resentfully informs us that if a family member or friend wants to go to a game, the player has to buy the ticket. He gratingly talks about himself in the third person. Yet, his egomania is almost understandable, though not inexcusable. In an amazingly frank 1990 interview with the L.A. Times, he revealed how Walter Gretzky got his jollies toying with his boy's psyche and pushing him unforgivingly to make it beyond the 3rd line of his pee-wee team (the apex of Gretzky pere's career).

He slams everyone from his houseboy (for not being a coffee expert even though he comes from Columbia) to a woman at a newsstand (for demanding he pay for an issue of Time he was on the cover of). But he saves most of his bile for Peter Pocklington. True, he would've become a mega-star anyway, but Pocklington came along at a time when the NHL wouldn't touch him due to his age; for that alone, Gretzky should be thankful. Promblem is, he doesn't know the meaning of the word...I don't know what bothers me more, how he paints himself as the hapless victim of The Trade (he wasn't) or the smirk on his face on the cover. If Gretzky proves anything, it's that he's petty, emotionally immature, at times, a real jerk, and even something of a bigot ...anything but the "class act" the media - and himself - believes he is.

Not the goody-two shoes I thought he was
Who knew that Wayne's so opinionated? In that respect, this book was a real surprise. I thought I was getting the usual sports bio, "We went into game 5 tired and spent, yada yada yada..." While Wayne does include things like that, he does provide insight on what it feels like to be a highly recognizable person. Most celebrities are too egotistical to admit to feelings of lonliness at the top, for instance. Wayne admits these feelings, yet also enjoys his moments. I also liked how he pulled no punches when it came to his feelings about Peter Pocklington. You'll want to get into a hot shower and scrub yourself red, after reading the chapters on The Trade. He also occasionally decries The Supreme Lord Sather. Nice to see someone in the game not worship at the altar once in a while, isn't it? Yet he's still the greatest ambassador hockey has had. This book is better than Kevin Lowe's gloss-job, I'll tell ya that.

it was an exelent book all of the quots were great
I loved the quotes. once I started to read it i could not stop. I could not belive I read a book that was that long. Wayne Gretzky is the greatest man who ever lived. It is amasing when you think about it how many peaople try to idolise him. go into a hockey rink and look to see how many people actally do idolise him. And it is all because his jursey was too big for him when he was playng with the 17 year olds. My favorite part was when walter Gretzky quotes "I did not build a rink to watch my son grow up to be a pro I did it so I could watch from the kitchen where it is worm"

This was a great book!!
I thought that this was a great book. It tells about his first ten years in the NHL and how he broke tons of records. If you are wanting to learn more about Wayne Gretzky I would recommend reading this book. I just picked up this book the other day when he retired just to see how great of a hockey player he was and forever will be. I especially enjoyed this book from a hockey players view since I have played hockey for nine years and enjoy this sport verry much. So if you want to read a great book by a great hockey player read this book.

Great Reading Material
I thought it was a great book. I read it when I was in middle school and as soon as I picked it up I couldn't put it down. It had a lot of information and it was really interesting to see just how good he really was when he was little. ... Read more

Book Description

From April 1864 until the end of the war, Horace Porter served as lieutenant colonel attached to Grant1s staff. He accompanied him into battle in the Wilderness, Cold Harbor and Petersburg campaigns and was there at the courthouse at Appomattox. His portrait of his two years with Grant has emerged as the most readable first-hand account we have of the General in action. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The Place to Start in a Study on Grant
The personal anecdotes are truly amazing. This was written by one of Grant's closest aides during the Eastern Theatre campaign. This book shows and disputes the old arguments of Grant as a Butcher. An Important read for those who want to find the real Grant!

Engrossing.
These are the personal reminiscences of Horace Porter, Aide-de-Camp to General Grant. He joined Grant April 4, 1864 and served with him for 9 years, 1864-1872. So by definition expect Federal bias and a father like depiction of Grant. That said, this is a very good Civil War learning tool, insightful as only the reflections of someone who was privy to the highest councils of Union command could be.

From his promotion to General-in-Chief until the end of the war, Grant had to make many tough decisions. Porter reports a number of these in this book. But he also reports on Grant, General of the Armies. My comments to come are not intended to in any way denigrate Robert E. Lee. Let's face it, Lee's performance was awesome. However, Grant's performance was much better, if for no other reason than Grant's authority was greater than Lee's. Until the very last days of the war, Jeff Davis acted as his own General-in-Chief. For all but 3 weeks, Lee only commanded the Army of Northern Virginia. Grant, however, commanded all Federal armies. Thus, as biased as Porter's work necessarily is, Porter does give us the first and best look at a true modern general. Grant's political awareness, his understanding of logistics, close coordination with the navy, handling multiple armies, ability to improvise, understand and forge new methods of warfare such as Sherman's march, "mark him as the exceptional general of the nineteenth century".

Porter book gives us a unique view of how Grant's abilities evolved. Equally important we get in-depth reviews of a variety of Union participants everyone from Lincoln, to Hancock, Dana, Meade, Sherman and Sheridan just to mention a few. These personal reflections are quite worthwhile.

This is one interesting book, written by a well positioned observer. It is a book that adds greatly to understanding the Union participants of the Civil War.

Partisan writing shrouds the truth
Porter writes as if the North was never wrong, its commanders never fooled or mistaken, its armies never disspirited, and that the Union campaigns always succeeded. We all should know better. According to Porter, every time the Confederates didn't hold a field they were "repulsed handsomely." Every time the Union didn't hold the field, they were merely "compelled to retire." You will see these gross aberrations throughout this stale and shoddy work. His characterizations add nothing fresh about the famous personages surrounding him, and certainly his military perspective offers less in quality of insight than the diary of any Union private. There are many great books on the Civil War by the figures who fought it: this one can wait until you've exhausted everything else.

The next-best-thing to Grant's "Memoirs"
I read Grant's "Memoirs" on the recommendation of a cigar-chomping friend. It was a revelation. I began reading with ambivalence about Grant. By the time I was finished, he became a hero for me, for entirely unexpected reasons -- the clarity of his writing, for one; his modesty and straight-forward manner, for two others. I followed it with other volumes about Grant (including Bruce Catton's set) but it wasn't until another friend whom I discovered shared my feelings for Grant's genius recommended Horace Porter's "Campaigning with Grant" that I discovered an equally satisfying successor. Horace Porter's "Campaigning With Grant" is the next best thing to Grant's "Memoirs." Again, the clarity of writing, the descriptions of Grant's decision-making process, the anecdotes from the Wilderness Campaign on through the sieges of Richmond and Petersburg, and on to Appomatox come as a revelation -- at least, in part, when you realize this is one of those "source documents" all the great historians of the era have relied upon.

Apparently Porter assisted Grant in writing his "Memoirs" although there is not much (if any) dispute that Grant wrote them himself. While this may explain some of the similarity in style and substance, it probably says more about "like minds" than anything else. No matter. This is well worth the read and very rewarding.

A Masterpiece!
If you had to read one book about U.S. Grant as a man this is it. Horace Porter knew Grant quite well and thought he book was written in 1896, it still retains a vibrancy and modernity to it. Porter wrote the book in an almost conversational style which is entertaining and interesting. Do you want to know how much Grant weighed or how tall he was? What kinds of foods he liked? How about a description of him necking with his wife in full view of Lincoln and his staff officers? Look no further than between the covers of this remarkable book. I guarantee you won't be able to put it down! ... Read more

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These 1966 and 1967 diaries of the late Cuban leader were written during his attempt to establish a guerilla insurrectionary movement in Bolivia. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Bolivian Diary
The Bolivian Diary of Che Guevara is pretty fascinating, because when I thought about the Bolivian Adventure, Che being a horrible comandante and guerrilla leader always came to my mind. When I read the book I found that there were many aspects that didn't let Che prevail in Bolivia. From Mario Monje and PCB Party's betrayel, Fidel's lack of re-establishing contact with the guerrillas, lack of peasant recruiting to create a people's army, lack of conditions being right in country for an insurection, etc. Even with all these things stopping Che I was very amazed on how far he got, any other leader wouldn't have lasted 2 months. Che's tactics in his ambushes was incredible and even with lack of guerrillas he wiped out mostly all army forces that opposed him. Che was doing superb until US intervention. To understand Che's mission and how he failed is to understan Latin America today. ... Read more

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A biography of Mahatma Gandhi, whose mission in life was to help the 350 million people of India free themselves from British rule. ... Read more

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Told in flowing and succinct prose, this portrait of Ruth Bell Graham, the world-famous evangelist Billy Graham's wife gives the reader a first-hand glimpse into some of the great events of the second half of this century. It follows Ruth Bell Graham first as a missionary child from war-ravaged pre-Revolution China and Korea, to peaceful Wheaton, Illinois, and then as a famous evangelist's wife, to the Deep South, Post-War Europe, and the events in America since the 1950s.

Far from showing us "The Revival Widow," Patricia Cornwell depicts Ruth Bell as a woman of extraordinary strength, will, and faith, who has influenced the face of modern Christianity. Inseparable from her husband, we learn much about Billy Graham's beliefs, his background, the evangelist's private life, and witness his rapid climb to world prominence, and Ruth's invaluable contributions, support, and sacrifices to her family, and his.

Patricia Cornwell, with this impressive account, has written a magnificent biography of a great American lady. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Flattering biography
The most interesting part of this book was in the descriptions of Ruth Bell Graham's early life in China. Her later life with Billy Graham was confusing. Since I'm not from her generation I found it hard to understand why she chose to marry Billy Graham. She wanted to be a missionary like her parents. Some of the details of their life struck me as odd (seperate bedrooms), but nothing was written that was offensive. This is a book you will read if you're really interested in Ruth Graham, but it will never be a mainstream bestseller.

Valuable and informative
An interesting story of a remarkable woman with unusual strength and deep insight into faith, Christ and christian living. Thus defenately worth reading. Yet the book left me spiritually hungry; I would have wanted to hear more Ruth's own voice, get closer to her and her way of figuring things out. That would have also brought more warmth into the biography. A book called "Coffee and conversation with Ruth Bell Graham and Gigi Tchividjian" fills that kind of needs better.

Ruth Graham: today's great role model!
A well written biography of one of the best examples of a Godly woman

Fascinating story of one of America's most famous wives
Ruth is a remarkable woman, with an interesting childhood, young adult and adult life story. She is a picture of a godly, submissive wife who is not a doormat....(something this world needs more examples of!) I recommend it, especially for young Christian women who are engaged or newly married.

There is no one in the world quite like Ruth Graham.
There is no one in the world quite like Ruth, not even Ms. Cornwell does her justice. Sure she indured much being the wife of the great Billy Graham, but not even he could begin to understand the many facets of this incredible woman. Only the Lord Himself truley knows, but I look forward to knowing her better in Heaven. ... Read more

Book Description

This comprehensive and balanced selection of Gandhi's writings, taken from his letters, articles, and books, represents the complete cross-section of his thought, from his early years as a young barrister freshly called to the London bar, to his final days as sage and counsel to newly independent India.The selection not only reveals the growth of Gandhi's ideas but also their essential internal integrity and consistency.Similarly, it illustrates the full facets of his personality: both acerbic and melancholic, gentle and forcefully intellectual, humourous and intensely demanding of his followers.Most of all, it reveals the deep humanity of the man and his rich vein of genuine spirituality.The Essential Writings shows Gandhi to have been both a contemplative ascetic mystic, as well as a man of action, revealing aspects of his thought and character that have previously been obscured, even to those who think they already know the Mahatma. ... Read more

Book Description

Che: The Photobiography of Che Guevara chronicles the life of Che Guevara, the passionate Argentinian revolutionary who aided Castro in the liberation of Cuba.Using over 300 black and white photographs, most never before seen, Christophe Loviny chronicles Guevara's life as the child of a privileged Argentinian family, his activism in South America, Africa, and Cuba, and his notorious death.Intermingled with text that includes excerpts from Che's letters and his diary, Loviny's work gives the reader a rare and intimate glimpse of a life often obscured by the revolutionary mystique peculiar to the man known to the world as Che. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the wake of a scandal-ridden presidency and sick with cancer, Ulysses S. Grant took up the pen at the urging of his friend and editor Mark Twain, and set down his self-effacing Personal Memoirs. The result is one of the finest--and most closely studied--first-person accounts of warfare ever written.

As commander of federal forces in the west, and later of the entire Union army, Grant oversaw some of the bloodiest actions of the war, among them the battles and sieges of Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Richmond. In his recollections of these fights, Grant praises his officers and men, who, he writes, "knew what they were fighting for." Quick, as well, to praise the gallantry of the enemy, Grant insists that the Civil War was fought not over states' rights, but over slavery, pure and simple, and he reckons that, considering postwar political and economic progress, "It is probably well that we had the war when we did."

To this abridged version--which would have benefited greatly from the addition of explanatory notes and a more useful introduction--historian Thomas Fleming adds an essay on the role of West Pointers on both sides of the conflict. Students of military history will find that essay worthy, and Grant's memoirs essential. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Another look from the top of command:
Insight is key to this book written by Grant from basically his death bed.What we learn from Grant in this book gives us an opportunity to understand his intentions, strategies and how he worked with people.Grant tries to be very fair in his writing that covers his early days as a colonel to full-fledged commander of the US Army.His style is basic and easy to understand.At times the book feels like he is giving a history lesson about the war and sometimes is vague about triumphs or failures.I was looking forward to reading about Grant's work with the battle of Cold Harbor and he was completely brief in this book considering it was a major conflict.But, this was Grant's choice to write and memoir depth is subject to author decision.Grant does pack a lot of information in and also has interesting coverage in regards to Lee's surrender.Anyone studying Grant or looking for further insight owes it to themselves to consider reading this book.

This is an abridged version
The only criticism here is that the editors saw fit to edit this masterpiece of American literature. This is a little like editing Shakespeare or the Bible. Don''t tamper with genius! This criticism aside...

General Grant wrote this book while dying of throat cancer. He had been swindled by a dishonest Wall Street Broker and his trophies and possessions were stripped from him to satisfy the demands of his debtors. Bankrupt, suffering from a terminal illness and never passing a moment without acute pain, he produced this magnificent monument to his greatness. Those who denigrate Grant as a drunkard, butcher, bumbling President need to read this book in order to correct these errant assumptions. It is impossible to read this book and not realize that Grant was an inordinately intelligent man and one hell of a writer.

Grant's Memoirs are a deserved classic in American literature and considered the greatest military Memoirs ever penned, exceeding Caesar's Commentaries. Grant wrote as he lived: with clear, concise statements, unembellished with trivialities or frivolities. The only "criticism" the reader might have is that Grant bent over backwards not to wound the feelings of people in the book. He takes swipes at Joe Hooker and Jeff Davis, but what he left unsaid would have been far more interesting. A compelling and logical reason why Grant was so spare in his comments was because he was involved in a race with death. He didn't know how long he could live and therefore, "cut to the chase."

Grant's assessments of Lincoln, Sherman, Sheridan and other military leaders are brilliant and engrossing. His style, like the man himself, was inimitable and couldn't be copied. In everyday life, Grant was a very funny man, who liked to listen to jokes and tell them himself. His sense of the absurd was acute. It's no accident that he loved Mark Twain and the two hitched together very well. Twain and Grant shared a similar sense of humor, and Grant's witicisms in the Memoirs are frequent, unexpected and welcome. There are portions where you will literally laugh out loud.

Though Grant's Memoirs were written 113 years ago, they remain fresh, vibrant and an intensely good read. I have read them in! their entirity 30 times in my life and I never weary of the style and language that Grant employed. He was a military genius to be sure, but he was also a writer of supreme gifts, and these gifts shine through on every page of this testament to his greatness. All Americans should read this book and realize what we owe to Grant: he preserved the union with his decisive brilliance. A truly oustanding book. ... Read more

Book Description

President Grant Reconsidered shatters myths about America's 18th president. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Revisionism At Its Best
This is probably the bravest Grant book ever written. Even those biographers favorable to him have a tendency, like so many sheep, to parrot the same old lines about him as the bumbling, inept politician who presided over one of the most corrupt administrations is American history. It does not seem to bother these historians that they are, for the most part, simply repeating partisan attacks that had been made against him by his political enemies for their own questionable (to say the least) reasons.

Frank Scaturro is the first writer I have ever seen to use a fresh approach to the Grant presidency, pointing out not only that the much touted scandals of his term in office were frequently based on weak or exaggerated evidence, but that Grant himself was a strong, enlightened leader who accomplished more than most want to admit. It seems that the victor of Vicksburg and Appomattox was not all that different from the man who occupied the White House, after all.

This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to hear "the other side of the story" of Grant's oft-belittled political career.

Finally- A Honest Account of the Grant Presidency!
During the 50 years following the Civil War, the presidency of U. S. Grant was completely distored in an attempt to diminish the accomplishments of the Grant era (Civil Rights) and to take away some of the luster from the man who saved the Union.

The Democratic party- particullary of the South- stiffled the great civil rights efforts of the Republicans during reconstruction. As time passed, and voting rights and other legislative initatives of the Granta administration were dismembered by the Southern Demacrats, they constantly sought to sully the memory of Grant. One of the keys to that effort was portraying the Grant administration in a bad light in terms of corruption. This was done by distortion history, and the outright falsification of the facts involved in the Grant administration. To a large extent these distortions have not been challanged.

Grant Reconsidered presents the historical record in a straight fowrward manner: The Grant presidency offered tremendous acomplishments- and really offered a bridge from a slave nation to a nation where all men have the same rights. An outstanding book!!

A book that reshapes debate about an underrated presidency
Readers looking for a history of Grant's presidency will be sorely disappointed. The author assumes that the reader has at least a passing familiarity with previous biographies of Grant and of such events as Reconstruction, the Crédit Mobilier scandal, the Whiskey Ring and the Treaty of Washington. Nevertheless, "President Grant Reconsidered" is an important book that should help reshape debate about these events and rehabilitate the reputation of perhaps the most underrated President in American history.

Interesting but uneven
Scaturro does a thorough job debunking some of the interpretations of history which keep plunking Grant in the "worst President" realm. For those interested in Grant this is a must read. As a Grant fan I was happy to see a defense come out in favor of Grant's accomplishments, however, Grant's shortcomings as a President (be they created by bad luck, bad spin, or bad policy) were manifold and I would have liked a more even-handed approach. Still, I enjoyed the book.

An Object Lesson in How History Can Be Distorted
At a time when one of America's most famous historians defends a President against rape charges by arguing that "gentlemen always lie about sex," this book is a welcome reminder that historians can greatly distort their subject matter. President Grant, as shown by Mr. Scaturro, was one of the great civil rights Presidents and a strong chief executive. That he is remembered as a failure says less about him as President than it does about the sheeplike quality of American academia who have tarnished his reputation. All Presidential Administrations probably have a certain level of corruption and the amount of publicity such corruption receives has nothing to do with the actual level of venality. This is one of the crucial books on American history. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Author-illustrator Demi has created a simple, straightforward, andreverent biography of India's "great soul." So simple and factual, indeed, thatit might be a rather ordinary book, except for Demi's memorable,color-saturated, very Indian illustrations. We follow Gandhi from his hard,lonely education and apprenticeship in England and South Africa through thenationwide strike he led after the Amritsar massacre, to Independence and hiseventual assassination. No major milestone in his life is left out, and each isdealt with in a short paragraph (typically 50 words), on its own page withaccompanying illustration; 8 or 9 of these may want more substance. In between,however, this is an excellent introduction to the subcontinent's most famousson. (Ages 5 to 10) --Richard Farr ... Read more

Book Description

The Spanish-language edition of Self-Portrait, a unique photographic and literary memoir drawing on the rich seam of materials Che Guevara left behind in Cuba. This Self-Portrait reveals the man behind the icon through exclusive, unpublished texts and never-before-seen photographs from Che's family collection--including the cover photo personally chosen by his compañera/ widow, Aleida March.

For the first time Che's private world and thoughts are brought to light, unveiling his extraordinary candor, irony, dry humor and passion. A dedicated amateur photographer, Che's own self-portraits are a stunning feature of this selection.

"I live with this anarchic spirit that leads me to dream of horizons . . ."-Che Guevara

Available in English as Self-Portrait (ISBN 1-876175-82-6)

Book Description

Total Gretzky provides fans with a wonderful and lasting tribute to the greatest hockey player of all time. This gorgeous, full-colour book based on The Hockey News’ commemorative magazine The Great One, but adding much, much more, gives readers the total picture. It features over 130 glorious, stunning photographs, almost exclusively in colour. It includes a moving tribute by celebrated hockey author Roy MacGregor, a foreword by Gretzky fan and friend Peter Gzowski, and fascinating and revealing articles by former NHL players and acclaimed Hockey News editors and writers.

And Total Gretzky features something truly unique: the most exhaustive look at Gretzky’s career, in numbers, ever compiled. In addition to career totals and records held, Total Gretzky lists every game, year by year, in which Gretzky ever played in the NHL, in the WHA, in junior, on Team Canada, and in all-star games, with a running total of goals, assists and points accumulated for each stage of his remarkable career. Milestone games and records are highlighted, and Gretzky’s amazing achievements are set against those of other hockey immortals.

Total Gretzky is a dazzling and complete testament to Wayne Gretzky, a book that no hockey fan should be without.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

An unforgettable champion
A champion is a lot of things for a fan, or just for anyone who claims to know him... He is mostly a great sign of ability,virtue, coherence, but what happens when a champion isn't simply the best athlete in his sport, but also an excellent prove of how to live a life? ... Read more