Here is Grant the tactician, the alcoholic, the plain and tough professional soldier, the ideal commander-but most of all here is Grant the writer as he assesses himself and the events that forged his character, as well as that of the nation. Soon, however, began the rebellion that broke the Union and recast Grant's fortune, transforming him into the leader of the victorious Union armies in the War Between the States and giving him the perspective to describe intimately the capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, the bloody Wilderness campaign, and Appomattox. Frank and unpretentious, Grant's memoirs tell the story of his boyhood in Ohio, his graduation from West Point, and the military campaigns in the West and Mexico that ended with his disgraceful resignation and a return to Illinois, where he ran the family store. With the help of his publisher, Mark Twain, Grant wrote to the last month of his life to leave a legacy for his family after being defrauded a year earlier of his estate. The reader's voice and style are well-suited to the material. He also has a nice line in self-deprecation. He completed the manuscript in eleven months-and died a week later, on July 23, 1885. Grant Considered among the greatest of military memoirs, these two volumes were an immediate bestseller. Grant has a wry turn of phrase and an eye for the humorous - as well as giving his memories of the Mexican and American Civil Wars. It is even more impressive in light of the circumstances in which it was created: Faced with terminal cancer, virtual bankruptcy, and a family he would leave without means of support, he took the advice of his publisher, mark Twain, and went to work.

Among the autobiographies of generals and presidents, the Personal Memoirs of U.U.

Grant personal memoirs