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Overview
When the small, stoop-shouldered man in a rumpled uniform and scuffed boots, accompanied by a thirteen-year-old boy, asked for a room at Willard's Hotel in Washington, D.C., he was offered a small room on the top floor. But when the clerk saw the man's signature, suddenly a suite was found for him. The man was Ulysses S. Grant, and President Lincoln recently had appointed him commander in chief of the Union forces. Noted historian Albert Marrin tells how this reluctant soldier became the leader who was able to bring final victory to the Union after years of bloody, wrenching civil war. Along the way he describes how soldiers lived in army camps: their food, their recreation, their thoughts, taken from diaries and letters home, and brings to the reader the experience of war: the fear, the deadly mistakes, the early medical services to the wounded, and always the heroism. Dr. Marrin re-creates the battles of Grant's campaigns and puts them in historical perspective. He makes it clear to his readers why both Abraham Lincoln and the ordinary Yankee soldier were willing to trust the outcome of the war and the future of the country to this unlikely hero.An account of Grant's life and his role in the Civil War.
Editorials
Children's Literature -
This well-researched and exciting presentation of the Civil War centers on the life and exploits of Ulysses S. Grant. Personal accounts and period photographs enliven this fascinating account of the battles and the lives of solders, commanders, and citizens. Recipient of numerous awards.School Library Journal
Gr 5 Up-Marrin gives an interesting overview of the many phases of history through which Grant lived and places him within the context of his time. He presents the paradoxical aspects of his subject's life and is unflinching in recounting Grant's failures as a civilian and as president. The rumors of his drinking are fully disclosed, as are his triumphs in battle. Well-chosen and informative black-and-white photographs and reproductions add to the appeal of this handsome, oversized volume. An excellent bibliography is appended, as are detailed notes. A well-written, lively, and informative biography that fills a real need, and will be much appreciated by both history students and Civil War buffs.-Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TNCarolyn Phelan
Part history, part biography, this is a fine study of Grant and his pivotal role in the Civil War. Marrin points out the many ironies of Grant's life: educated at West Point and a soldier by trade, he hated war; he seemed a failure until the war drew him from obscurity and brought his best qualities into prominence; repelled by the sight of blood since childhood, he led forces into the Battle of Shiloh, still remembered as a bloodbath; the leader of the Union army and a man who had freed his slaves, he once said he was not an abolitionist or even antislavery; anything but a politician, he became president of the U.S. Using these paradoxes to explore who Grant was and how he shaped events, Marrin creates a detailed and lively picture of the man and those who fought under him throughout the war. Well researched and vividly written, the book includes many quotations as well as photographs from the period. Source notes and a bibliography round out this very readable biography.Book Details
Published
May 31, 1994
Publisher
New York : Atheneum ; 1994.
Pages
208
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780689318375