NF Best Biography on Grant

Non-Fiction
The best biography of Grant from birth to the end of the Civil War is Brooks Simpson's Triumph Over Adversity. He's working on the second volume now, which takes us from the end of the Civil War through Reconstruction and Grant's presidency all the way to Grant's death.
I had read Grant's Memoirs and a few bios of him when I came to Triumph Over Adversity. I still learned quite a bit from Simpson and I recall the book fondly. I heartily recommend it.
 
Ha! I have been inserting little impatient remarks whenever possible regarding the second volume :wink: I will see professor Simpson in a couple of months: I will plead our case :smile:
Well, tell him to keep "the pedal to the metal!" I think that Triumph Over Adversity is the best Grant biography I have read and it seems like Volume 2 had been years in the making. I am particularly interested in the story of Grant's Presidency. It spanned 8 years of vital American history and has been largely overlooked in popular writings.
 
So glad to know this forum, and discover this thread ..looking forward to reading the Simpson book. .. just watched the excellent interview with the author .. he reminds me of a history professor I had at Trinity ... Thank you all ...
 
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My copy of Simpson's book just came in the mail, along with another one. :smile:
 

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Can't contribute much to the discussion here because I usually study battles and campaigns.:redface:
But I have read three biographies on Grant, all of them very informative--and sometimes conflicting.
--Ronald C. White's American Ulysses. This one has been mentioned a few times and remains my favorite (for now, anyway).
--Grant And Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War. Actually two biographies in one! It doesn't delve deep into either subject, but still has some interesting facts that I never knew before.
--Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not A Butcher by Edward H. Bonekemper III. A nice insight into Grant's military genius, but don't read if you can't stand the bias (a problem for me). When he gets to the 1864 campaigns, Bonekemper takes time to drag Lee through the ashes. It's a good book, but I don't think it's great because his bias comes across as unfair.
Or maybe it's my southern upbringing. Who knows?:whistling:
 
Can't contribute much to the discussion here because I usually study battles and campaigns.:redface:
But I have read three biographies on Grant, all of them very informative--and sometimes conflicting.
--Ronald C. White's American Ulysses. This one has been mentioned a few times and remains my favorite (for now, anyway).
--Grant And Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War. Actually two biographies in one! It doesn't delve deep into either subject, but still has some interesting facts that I never knew before.
--Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not A Butcher by Edward H. Bonekemper III. A nice insight into Grant's military genius, but don't read if you can't stand the bias (a problem for me). When he gets to the 1864 campaigns, Bonekemper takes time to drag Lee through the ashes. It's a good book, but I don't think it's great because his bias comes across as unfair.
Or maybe it's my southern upbringing. Who knows?:whistling:
I like Bonekemper's Myth of the Lost Cause: Why the South Fault the Civil War and Why The North Won. I think he does have a bias but it is mostly a good one. He shows the faults of Lee when a lot of people view him as one of the greatest generals of all time (which I disagree with). He is deified by some in the South which I find rather weird.
 
I found this and it's from November last year. He talks about Fruits of Victory 35:03 into the video.

Thanks so much for posting this video. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great timing for me, since I'm currently about halfway through Triumph Over Adversity.

Sounds like The Fruits of Victory is a couple years off... <sigh>
But that's OK. Since Ronald White's American Ulysses just came out last year, and Ron Chernow's Grant comes out this fall, this will give the history and reading world a bit of a breather between Grant biographies!
 
I read Jean Edward Smith's book on Ulysses S. Grant a few years back. I thought that it was very well done. The descriptions of the Battle of shiloh had me sweating. It felt so real. The only weakness of Smith's book, in my opinion, was the last few chapters where it described his presidential years, which, were pretty dry and uninteresting.

I am finishing Ronald C White's book American Ulysses. It is good but I feel as though it is not as gripping of a read as I want it to be. It might be because I have read about Grant before and it takes the surprise out of the experience. One aspect that really surprised me is how interesting the post Civil War chapters are. The feuds with Johnson, his protection for the freedmen and indians were very enlightening.

I am anticipating Ron Chernow's book coming out in October. Does anyone think that this book will be able to add much new material to the books already put about Grant? Given his previous books, it shall be a treat for anyone that admires Grant.
You can't go wrong with Simpson, White or Smith. For me, Smith and Simpson are equal first place entries. I loved both books. Perret's biography has some merit, but it falls short of the others IMHO.
 
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