Grant by Ron Chernow Book Review

Ron Chernow is one of my all-time favourite authors, and “Grant” is the consummate biography of one of America’s greatest heroes. Military strategist, General, and 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant was a man of stalwart nature who rose from being a somewhat misunderstood subordinate to a force to be reckoned with in the Civil War.

STAR RATINGS:

“GRANT” by Ron Chernow BOOK STATS:

• Published 2017
• 1074 total pages
• 965 pages of text
• 43 chapters
• One 8-page black and white picture inset
• 1 Notes section
• 1 massive Bibliography
• 1 Illustration credits section
• 1 Index section
• Hardcover available

“GRANT” by Ron Chernow BOOK REVIEW:

There are things about “Grant” the book that I both liked and disliked. I liked the fact that Ron Chernow brings to life the emotions, decisions, setbacks, and successes of Ulysses S. Grant in a way that only this author could. I didn’t like the fact that much of the actual historicity of the times was ignored.

Let’s start with the dislikes.

Based on Chernow’s own accounting of Grant, this book should have actually been titled: ‘Grant: A Functioning Alcoholic.’ Okay, so Grant was well known to have been a fair man with the bottle at times; however Chernow never lets us forget that for a moment.

Every single chapter overemphasizes this issue to the point that it actually becomes distracting! His alcoholic bits are so pervasive that you begin to expect them coloring any discussion of his personal life in the pages ahead. Too much Mr. Chernow.

A more accurate portrayal of U.S. Grant is that, yes he had his moments of disorderliness, but he never drank when he was in command or with his family which he dearly loved and took immense pride in. That statement should sum up Grant’s relationship with booze.

I thought that Chernow’s constant snipes about alcohol were just too much, much of it supposition anyway. Chernow insinuates that past instances of alcohol abuse were possibly to blame for some of his blunders and lack of promotions.

Let’s cork that issue and move on to the next. Ron Chernow’s reputation as a historian has been somewhat tarnished by his steamrolling over the issue of human ownership in the early to mid 19th century. I personally hate making that statement as Ron Chernow is one of my favourite authors!

However, in reading “Grant” you do NOT get any further into the causes of the Civil War other than ‘this person was a staunch Unionist, all of whom were adamantly opposed to human ownership,’ and ‘this person was a Southerner, all of whom owned humans.’ It’s insufferable! It’s irresponsible!

Trailing off of that, Confederate leaders such as Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis are portrayed as one-sided megalomaniacs – although his account of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox was fitting. All in all, “Grant” by Ron Chernow is unabashedly a dichotomous, pro-Union purge of history.

That being said, here’s what I liked about this book.

Not many authors can write like Ron Chernow. Hand’s down he is one of the kings of narrative. His ability to breathe life into a person is like a virtuoso playing the violin.

As in his past biographies “Alexander Hamilton,” “Washington: A Life,” and “House of Morgan,” Chernow delves deep into the mysteries of a person. At over 900 pages, this book delves DEEP.

With every turned page you are allowed into the psychology of the mind and sympathies of Ulysses S. Grant, from his love of family, his sense of honor, to his unusual ability to be cool under fire in war. “Grant” literally takes you from birth to death and all the ups and downs in between – and what a roller coaster ride this book is!

Some of the parts of this book that stood out for me was how much U.S. Grant actually struggled in between his success in the Mexican-American War (c. 1849) and his call to duty in the Civil War in 1860. This period of over 10 years truly defines him for me; but not only that, we get to see how lovingly supportive and positive his wife was for him.

Although his father and father-in-law never truly saw eye-to-eye with the young Grant in this phase of his life, his wife Julia always seemed to look on the bright side and knew that “with his split metabolism, Grant came alive in emergencies, drawing upon a fund of strength that often lay dormant in more tranquil times” (p.73). That is absolutely gorgeous writing.

In summary, Ron Chernow’s “Grant” is an exceptional biography on the life of Ulysses S. Grant that changed my understanding of one of American history’s most enigmatic leaders. It is also, ironically, my least favourite book out of all of Ron Chernow’s publications.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Chernow, Ron. 2017. Grant. New York: Penguin Press.
• ISBN-13: 978-1594204876
• Amazon Link.