One
of the books on my bucket list is “The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S.
Grant.” I have put it off because the two-volume set is intimidating,
especially to a reader who enjoys historical fiction than total history.
When
I saw this small book on the shelf at the library, I thought I would try it.
I’m glad I did. The reader/writer in me loved the first sentence: “Frederick
Ward was a sociopath, but no one knew it at the time.” Doesn’t that make you
want to read more? I was certainly hooked.
Most
of us know Grant as the Union general who defeated General Robert E. Lee in the
Civil War and who went on to become a tow-termed United States President. Two
terms. But Grant had a full life off the battlefield and after his presidency.
Author Mackowski does an excellent job in summing up the before the war made
Grant a household name without getting in the way of this extremely personal
story.
This
succinct history takes place between May 4, 1884, and mid-July 1885. It is the
story of Grant’s financial ruin, his tortured battle with throat cancer (from twenty
cigars a day) and a drive, plus the urging of Samuel Clemens, which made him
complete his memoirs before his illness killed him.
In
the compulsively readable book, readers get to go behind the scenes in the life
of a public man to learn about what drove him in this last stretch. And what
drove him was Clemens’ assurance that the sales of his memoirs would provide
financial security for his family. The memoirs were an instant hit when they
were released in 1885 and remain one of the few books that has never gone out
of print.
Mackowski
has authored a book that is “Filled with personal intrigues and
supported by a cast of colorful characters that included Mark Twain, William
Vanderbilt, and P. T. Barnum, ‘Grant’s Last Battle’ recounts a deeply personal
story as dramatic for Grant as any of his battlefield exploits.”
When
I finished reading, I closed the book with a greater sense of respect and
admiration for the “Hero of Appomattox.”
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