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Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero by Michael Korda

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are quite a few Grant biographies available. Ron Chernow's is likely to be the most pre-eminent, but William McFeely's Grant:A Biography and Ronald White's American Ulysses are also rather well-known among many others and the man wrote a memoir his self, so there's plenty of places to go.

I have rather enjoyed the idea of the Eminent Lives series. Its conceit is that it's not intended for those who want to pick up a 700-page tome, and already have some knowledge of the subject. Indeed, one of the books I remember most from childhood was about Grant (and probably not coincidentally, a trip to Galena, Illinois). The series also pairs the famous historic figure with a popular contemporary author, in this case the British-born Korda who has a military background.

This is a very quick read, but I like Korda's takes and light style. Korda covers at a very superficial level (which is intended) and looks mostly at his military deeds.

Of this I found interesting

-Grant was really not cut out to be a farmer or a businessman or much of anything else, really, but was a born General and naturally became one of the best to ever be on the battlefield. It's a bit of an oddshot that he even ended up where he did, but by serendipity, he saved the Union.

-Korda knows the Robert E Lee is an American icon. The distinguished white haired general in his sharp buttoned up jacket is still a cult of personality (read some recent headlines) while our image of Grant is dumpy and plain. Most will think of the picture of Grant, plain, dumpy, tired and leaning on a tree.

-Grant was a brilliant strategist and sometimes that strategy was just to have more men. Grant wasn't flashy. He's wasn't particularly unsympathetic, but he also knew he needed a battle or attrition and that meant he was going to have large casualties. At the end of the day, Lee was a great general, but Grant was the better one.

-Korda does not spend a lot of time on the Presidency, but he offers reasons for Grant's scandals which have plagued his image. Grant was naive and trusting, and made bad decisions as a President and as a post-White House resident because of that trust.

-Korda ends the book with a fantastic metaphor of Grant as his generation's Eisenhower. Neither were flashy in style or militaristic action, but knew that slow and steady smart moves and an obedience to the President were what won wars. Like Ike, he was surrounded by men with bigger ambitions, but led them well. Korda compares WW2 to the Civil War generals of both sides where the union and the confederates had generals with particular strengths and weaknessess. Korda has his Patton (Stonewall Jackson), MacArthur (the ambitious and vain McLellan), Harold Alexander (the dogged Meade) and Omar Bradley (Longstreet). Interestingly, the generals of WW2 Germany had studied Grant.

-Like Truman 80 years later, Grant did not know how to adjust back to civilian life. He wasn't rich like the early Virginians or the Roosevelts and Hoover of later days. He went around the world and was treated as a celebrity and hero. He hoped (in vain) the GOP would re-nominate him for a third term. He ended up being encouraged by Mark Twain to write his memoir.

You may know a lot of this, but Korda is a great storyteller and it feels fresh. He adds enough insight to make it really enjoyable.

I would recommend this for those interested in a book about Grant that can be read in minimal sittings. I would be likely to pick up Korda's longer books on Lee and Eisenhower, and I certainly could see myself going back to the Eminent Lives series.

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