accomplished
Few writers can make history as clear, coherent and interesting as Brands, and he does a masterful job of not only telling us about Grant's doings, but also of putting them in the context of the times he lived in. For example, in the section on Grant's civil war career, we are given well-explained accounts of Grant's battle plans, but are also told of what is occurring elsewhere in the war, giving the reader a greater appreciation of the significance of Grant's accomplishments.
The book takes us from Grants early years, through his fortuitous entry into West Point, his marginal success as a cadet, his exploits as a young lieutenant in the Mexican War, his lean years of disappointing his father and struggling financially, his rise to the primary military leadership role in the civil war, his conduct of the war including his relationship with Abraham Lincoln and the second-guessing he endured as commander from many different sources. We are taken through the period of Lincoln's assassination, the turbulent presidency of Andrew Johnson, the move to draft Grant as president, his struggles as president to protect the rights of freedmen in the south, his battles with the Ku Klux Klan and the constant challenge of reconstruction. Brands gives a wonderful account of Grant's round-the-world tour after the end of his presidency, the failed attempt to draft Grant for a third term as chief executive, and Grant's very principled efforts to repay investors who were swindled by his son's unscrupulous business partner. The book concludes with Grant's battle with throat cancer and his courageous struggle to write his autobiography in the midst of a most painful illness in order to provide for his family.
Brands does not shy away from the subject of Grant's problems with alcohol, but makes the argument that this issue was probably exaggerated and that there is no evidence that Grant's drinking ever affected his leadership or his decision-making. If there is one criticism of the book, it may be that the scandals which plagued Grant's second term as president are not sufficiently addressed. One might conclude that the author has become sufficiently enamored with his subject so as to drift into hero-worship. But Brands articulates a strong case for why his adulation of his subject is justified, and how subsequent criticisms of Grant may be rooted more in the politics of the day than in fairness. It is hard to doubt, after reading this book, that Grant was very principled, committed to the concept of equal rights as well as many other causes for the betterment of his nation.
2012 has produced many wonderful biographies, but this may be the best of the bunch.