AMERICAN CIVIL WAR - NONFICTION
"Ulysses S. Grant: Triumph Over
Adversity, 1822-1865" 
By Brooks D. Simpson
This is an exceptional biography. The
research that went into this book and the comprehensive references included are
most impressive. This is the story of the man, Ulysses S. Grant, not the legend.
In this work, Grant's greatest triumphs as well as his most dismal failures are
exposed. I found his early life as a cadet at West Point and as a quartermaster
officer in the Mexican-American War most interesting. After that war he was
assigned as an infantry officer in California where he became depressed and fell
to drink. He resigned from the service and was a failure at almost everything he
tried, finally working as a store clerk for his father. When the Civil War
started, Grant helped recruit volunteer regiments and train them. He had very
little political pull and had to fight for his appointment as Colonel. He
distinguished himself in the Western Campaigns and was promoted to Major General
in the Regular Army. Because of his successes and the failures of other
generals, he was appointed Lieutenant General of the Army. This caused all kinds
of bitterness from rivals and political cronies. Grant then led the Union Armies
into Virginia where he faced Lee. What followed was a long and hard fought
campaign. The battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the
Petersburg and Appomattox Campaigns finally brought the Army of Northern
Virginia to surrender. Through all the fighting, Grant never gave up and
continually pressed forward. Some of Grant's hardest battles were with the
bottle, the press, politicians and incompetent people under his command. Grant
hated war, was sickened by the loss of life, and did everything in his power to
bring the conflict to an end.
Reviewed by Kenneth S. Smith 2/14/2000
Available from:
Houghton Mifflin Company
215 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10003
