Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier & President

New York: Random House, 1997. xii, 542 pages, [16] pages of plates, illustrations, maps; 25 cm. Near fine. Firm binding, gently creased spine. Clean inside copy. Stated First Edition. Fine DJ. "Not since Bruce Catton has there been such an absorbing and exciting biography of Ulysses S. Grant. 'Grant is a mystery to me,' said Sherman, 'and I believe he is a mystery to himself.' Geoffrey Perret's account offers new insights into Grant the commander and Grant the president that would have astonished both his friends, such as Sherman, and his enemies. Based on extensive research, including material either not seen or not used by other writers, this biography explains for the first time how Grant's military genius ultimately triumphed as he created a new approach to battle. He was, says Perret, 'the man who taught the army how to fight.' As president, Grant was widely misunderstood and underrated. That was mainly because he was, as Perret shows, the first modern president--the first man to preside over a rich, industrialized America that had put slavery behind it and was struggling to provide racial justice for all. Grant's story--from a frontier boyhood to West Point; from heroic feats in the Mexican War to grinding poverty in St. Louis; from his return to the army and eventual election to the presidency; from his two-year journey around the world to his final battle to finish his Personal Memoirs--is one of the most adventurous and moving in American history. / Geoffrey Perret's most recent book, Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life of Douglas MacArthur, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His earlier works include A Country Made by War, a highly acclaimed military history of the United States. He was educated at Harvard and the University of California at Berkeley." - Publisher.. 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Fine. 8vo.