Grant

By: Ron Chernow

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

The #1 New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2017

“Eminently readable but thick with import . . . Grant hits like a Mack truck of knowledge.”—Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic

Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant.

Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman, or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow shows in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.

Before the Civil War, Grant was flailing. His business ventures had ended dismally, and despite distinguished service in the Mexican War he ended up resigning from the army in disgrace amid recurring accusations of drunkenness. But in war, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign, and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Along the way, Grant endeared himself to President Lincoln and became his most trusted general and the strategic genius of the war effort. Grant’s military fame translated into a two-term presidency, but one plagued by corruption scandals involving his closest staff members.

More important, he sought freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race.” After his presidency, he was again brought low by a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, only to resuscitate his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre.

With lucidity, breadth, and meticulousness, Chernow finds the threads that bind these disparate stories together, shedding new light on the man whom Walt Whitman described as “nothing heroic... and yet the greatest hero.” Chernow’s probing portrait of Grant's lifelong struggle with alcoholism transforms our understanding of the man at the deepest level. This is America's greatest biographer, bringing movingly to life one of our finest but most underappreciated presidents. The definitive biography, Grant is a grand synthesis of painstaking research and literary brilliance that makes sense of all sides of Grant's life, explaining how this simple Midwesterner could at once be so ordinary and so extraordinary.

Named one of the best books of the year by Goodreads • Amazon • The New York Times • Newsday • BookPage • Barnes and Noble • Wall Street Journal

©2017 Ron Chernow (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“This is a good time for Ron Chernow’s fine biography of Ulysses S. Grant to appear . . . As history, it is remarkable, full of fascinating details sure to make it interesting both to those with the most cursory knowledge of Grant’s life and to those who have read his memoirs or any of several previous biographies . . . For all its scholarly and literary strengths, this book’s greatest service is to remind us of Grant’s significant achievements at the end of the war and after, which have too long been overlooked and are too important today to be left in the dark . . . As Americans continue the struggle to defend justice and equality in our tumultuous and divisive era, we need to know what Grant did when our country’s very existence hung in the balance. If we still believe in forming a more perfect union, his steady and courageous example is more valuable than ever.”—Bill Clinton, New York Times Book Review

“Grant is vast and panoramic in ways that history buffs will love. Books of its caliber by writers of Chernow’s stature are rare, and this one qualifies as a major event . . . . Chernow is clearly out to find undiscovered nobility in his story, and he succeeds; he also finds uncannily prescient tragedy. There are ways in which Grant’s times eerily resemble our own . . . Indispensable.”—The New York Times

“Chernow tells all this rapidly and well; his talent is suited to Grant’s story . . . He is extraordinarily good on what could be called, unpejoratively, the Higher Gossip of History—he can uncannily detect the actual meaning beneath social interactions . . . Fluent and intelligent.”—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker

Ron Chernow should be writing for our schools

I want to first give the Narrator, Mark Bramhall, much credit. He did such a great job creating voices for all characters - it made it super easy for me to follow along (at work...shh...don't tell anyone...) & very enjoyable (I am not a major 'books on tape' fan - I like to hold an actual book). I found myself searching all books he narrated and purchasing them.
Ron Chernow did such an amazing detailed job in the life of Grant - that I feel like I know him. There are so many small accounts noted in his life, that it makes you like him & respect him even more. I appreciate the first 6 hours into it talking more in depth of his life, his family, his in-laws, how he felt, etc. I wanted to 'know' Grant more than the Civil War General and President.
During my recent trip to DC, Virginia & Gettysburg = I was told many personal stories (and seen the artifacts) by the staff at each destination of many persons in regards to this war. My mouth was open most of this trip due to all the details I was learning about everything and everyone - I was shocked. I was obsessed with the Civil War, WWII and Vietnam in school and thought I knew much....Nope! This book is the sort of thing I believe we all need to learn in History classes. It brings that time era, the circumstances, and one man's journey thru this all to life.
I truly hope he writes a book on Robert E. Lee next

Ranks at the top of best biographies

I learned so much from this book. Impeccable research and writing. Superb, exquisite narration. Highly recommend!

Lives up to the hype

I had assumed that Ron Chernow couldn’t have topped Hamilton. Happily I was wrong. Definitely worth your time and money.

Great book

Just finished this audiobook. I always enjoyed books about the civil war. I found this very informative. I am now a bigger fan of U. S. Grant than before. “AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY#

Chernow has done it again!

Having read both "Alexander Hamilton" and "Washington: A Life" over the past year, I began "Grant" within a week of its release on Audible.

Chernow takes an often overlooked President and breathes new life into him. He does not look over his faults nor does he over praise his subject, making sure to put everything into its proper context. Use of multiple primary sources from telegrams and letters, Grant's memoirs, Mark Twain's opinions, diary entries from Grant's family/friends/enemies/frenemies, and contemporary newspaper clippings backs up Chernow's research every step of the way. This will no doubt be the go-to Grant biography for many many years to come.

Mark Bramhall does an excellent job handling multiple historical figure voices, including Ulysses Grant, Julia Grant, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, and Mark Twain. He handled multiple different accents such as Western, European and Southern well; I did not think the female voices were too foppish or silly which is a real plus. Bramhall understands pace and I was impressed by his ability to carry such a long work.

Because this was over 48 hours long, however, I could not download onto my phone in the Audible App and had to listen on my computer, so it took me longer to get through. The King James Bible audiobook was split into 10 parts, so perhaps Audible can make long bios like Chernow's "Grant" easier to listen to on-the-go.

I look forward to Chernow's next grand work. Perhaps Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee?

Narrator was horrible

The Narrator was very distracting when he tried to talk like southern women. It was very distracting when he changed his delivery with every different character and stage of life.

This was an excellent book.

I feel like an expert. Read extremely well by the reader. Highly recommend for anyone looking to understand one of our most important presidents.

Simply incredible

The life of saviour of the union is finally given a thorough examination it so deserves. Everything from his early stumbles to unlikely ascent to power are captured in a clear and engaging manner, worthy of the legacy of General Grant.

More than duty

Grant’s story in full of courage and doing what had to be done. A life full of growth, ever learning.Failing until you succeed! Ron Chernow has done a balanced account of Grant’s human weaknesses that caused multitudes of hardships in Grant’s life. It is refreshing to read the challenges of facing and overcoming personal failing to emerge into a truly wondrous human being, rather than the Wallowing in self pity that often prevails today.
Ron Chernow does a great job of telling both sides of the events surround Grant. Those both that were for and those against him.

Chernow's Latest Historical Tome - Fantastic!

I’ve long been a fan of Ron Chernow’s historical works; to be certain, at the very least, a good ten year prior to his most famous work becoming a masterpiece of the Broadway stage. He is truly one of the most valuable historian authors we have in the United States in this era. His latest tome, “Grant”, fits perfectly in that descriptive.

I’ve read several other books on General/President Grant prior to this one, and each has helped me to better understand the different facets of this important character in the story of our nation. Certainly, much has been written about his leadership during the Civil War and his presidency. Chernow, as should be expected, spent the bulk of the book on these two periods of Grant’s life. However, where the book really shined for me was in the description of Grant following all of this, in his retirement years (if they can even be called that). Much like Edmund Morris did for Theodore Roosevelt in his, “Colonel Roosevelt”, the final book in a trilogy of Roosevelt’s life; Chernow brought light to Grant’s post-presidential life.

The most amazing aspect of this part of Grant’s final years, at least to me, was his nearly three-years of travelling which took him literally around the globe. What started off as a life-long ambition, to see some of Europe in his personal time, turned into a series of adventure in one country after the other, with Grant serving in a near-formal representative capacity for his nation. He visited Queen Victoria in Buckingham palace, talked with Victor Hugo in Paris (about Napoleonic tactics), enjoyed many cigar-smoke-laced discussions with Otto Von Bismark in Berlin and visited the full gambit of European Grand Tour destinations so famous in the 19th century. But it grew from there. He was invited to travel to Africa, the Middle East, India, China, Japan and many other destinations. In each case he served as diplomat and representative, accomplishing many amazing things, to include a treaty between China and Japan to resolve a conflict between these two nations. These are things which I really never read about before, and to which I am thankful that Chernow spent so much time.

Of course, Chernow spent much time on aspects of Grant that have been so spun over in the past. His alcoholic tendencies – very real, but something which has been vastly overblown, and to which he was largely able to control over time. His leadership – in the military and as President. His great fault – trusting people in his life, especially during the Presidential and post-Presidential years, who would ultimately betray him. Grant was a very trusting person when it came to his friends. Loyal to a fault. Many of detractors, who would claim Grant himself to be guilty of corruption (he did not), could more accurately point to a few in his administration rather than to Grant himself. Historians have not always been kind to Grant on this count; however, Chernow really helps to better define this aspect of his character.

This is an excellent read which I would whole-heartedly recommend.