U.S. Grant

American Hero, American Myth

By: Joan Waugh

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

At the time of his death, Ulysses S. Grant was the most famous person in America, considered by most citizens to be equal in stature to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Yet today his monuments are rarely visited, his military reputation is overshadowed by that of Robert E. Lee, and his presidency is permanently mired at the bottom of historical rankings.

In an insightful blend of biography and cultural history, Joan Waugh traces Grant's shifting national and international reputation, illuminating the role of memory in our understanding of American history. She captures a sense of what led 19th-century Americans to overlook Grant's obvious faults and hold him up as a critically important symbol of national reconciliation and unity. Waugh further shows that Grant's reputation and place in public memory closely parallel the rise and fall of the Northern version of the Civil War story, in which the United States was the clear, morally superior victor and Grant was the emblem of that victory. After the failure of Reconstruction, the dominant Union myths about the war gave way to a Southern version that emphasized a more sentimental remembrance of the honor and courage of both sides and ennobled the "Lost Cause". By the 1920s, Grant's reputation had plummeted. Most Americans today are unaware of how revered Grant was in his lifetime. Joan Waugh uncovers the reasons behind the rise and fall of his renown, underscoring as well the fluctuating memory of the Civil War itself.

©2009 Joan Waugh (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Exceptionally thoughtful and valuable. . . . [Written in] clear prose that is readily accessible to the serious general reader." [A] fine study." ( The Washington Post)

A Celebration of US Grant

This book is all about how great if however misunderstood Grant was. There is little detail on the war. That part felt rushed.
The audio is spliced together in an obvious manner and is sometimes awkward. It is well written and the facts seem to be straight.
For a counter view point on this man, check out Master of War which by the way is an outstanding insight on this lesser known man, MG George Thomas. It will make you wonder if President Lincoln chose the wrong man when Thomas and his record was under his nose from the beginning.

Enjoyed it.

Great material and good performance. I highly recommend it for American Civil War history devotees.
I have nothing else to add.

A new perspective

The author presents a really interesting look at U.S. Grant. She disputes the modern view of Grant by emphasizing the great respect he was given during his lifetime and the rest of the 19th century. Her account of the writings of the recent historians is particularly helpful.

The reader does an excellent job with the narration.

Waugh spends an inordinate amount of time dwelling on the construction of the Grant memorial in New York and then winds it up. The book would have been better if she had continued her detailed narrative further into the 20th century to explain how historians' views of Grants evolved to the current time.

Runs out of gas at the end

I learned a lot about U.S. Grant from the book. He has received a bad rap and the author turned that around for me. Her premise for the book was intriguing: Why was a man who was incredibly popular, one-two million people attended his tomb opening, in 1898, completely disreputed only forty years later and to this day, considered one of the worst Presidents in history. Waugh sort of answers the question but I was hoping that she would give a little more detail about exactly why this occurred. I don't think the contention that he got a lot of bad press from one scholar is substantial evidence. It does point our how fleeting fame can be.

Fantastic

The three great fathers of our country: Washington, Lincoln and Grant. It is time to set the record straight.

Awful

Don't waste your money or credits or time on this book. Felt like I was in a college history lecture. Additionally the narration was not good as is echoed by other reviews.

Good Book, Weaker Audio

Excellent study of how and why our view of national heroes changes over time. However, audio is very disappointing. Joan Waugh's reading is rushed (almost to the point of seeming to have been deliberately faster than "normal" for audio books). In addition, often seems to overlook punctuation or otherwise place emphasis in the wrong part of a long sentence, making the narrative harder to follow. Technical side of the recording also seemed deficient, with some clear editing mistakes and sound that, while acceptable, in some ways doesn't seem up to the standard of most Audible books.

Book rating: four to five stars
Recording/reading: two stars

weak

Jane Ellen's reading is painful. Her reading style is too fast, singsong-like and hard to follow. Section titles blur into text and quotes are undistinguished from normal text. But the writing of the book itself also seems weak. This is my first Grant biography but I have read many other civil war books that were better organized, had better narratives and did not rely on the thesaurus style of adjective use. Clearly Waugh wants to defend Grant, but I found her approach raised more questions then she answered and often left me doubting the credibility of her points. Search out a better writer if you want to learn about Grants life.