Library of Congress“Gen. Ulysses S. Grant” by artist S.S. Frizzell
We recently asked a number of top Civil War historians to let us know their favorite books about Ulysses S. Grant. The results are below. The books are ranked in order of popularity and accompanied by selected explanations from our panelists.
1. Personal Memoirs by Ulysses S. Grant (39% of our historians picked this book)
“One of the classic military autobiographies of all time.”
—Allen C. Guelzo
“Grant had a way of telling his story that left you believing he must be right in a lasting masterpiece of American literature.”
—Brooks D. Simpson
2. U.S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth by Joan Waugh (18%)
“This book is perfectly balanced in so many ways: It integrates Grant’s military career and his presidency, illuminates his personality as well as his image and legacy, and it both reaches out to general readers and offers news insights for the scholarly experts.”
—Elizabeth Varon
T-3. Grant by Ron Chernow (9%)
“Chernow’s biography of Grant is the best—the fullest, best researched, and most readable—of the large number of Grant bios.”
—James M. McPherson
T-3. Grant Moves South / Grant Takes Command by Bruce Catton (9%)
“In my view, Catton understood Grant the general and Grant the man better than any other Grant biographer.”
—Stephen W. Sears
T-3. Grant: A Biography by William S. McFeely (9%)
“It is my favorite because of McFeely’s complex and engaging portrait of the man.”
—Lesley Gordon
Other Selected Books:
Captain Sam Grant by Lloyd Lewis (4%)
Grant by Jean Edward Smith (4%)
Let Us Have Peace by Brooks D. Simpson (4%)
American Ulysses by Ronald C. White (4%)
This information appeared in the Monitor‘s special issue Grant vs Lee.
