Customer Reviews

Conversations With General Grant: An Informal Biography

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This book is seriously flawed and a waste of time for serious historians, but yet... it has some interesting moments. The premise behind the book is that the author is able to interview Ulysses S. Grant and ask him whatever he wishes. This is problematic, because Grant certainly would never have answered most of these questions. Many are too personal and even more relate directly to his drinking, a much-exaggerated aspect of his life. Grant would certainly have given the author a pointed look and then walked off, silent as usual.

But the Grant in this book is effusive and answers every question. No wonder, without this device, the book would have a crashing bore! So we have a voluble and chatty Ulys giving fake psychological insight into his drinking, his military decisions, his cancer and ultimately, his death. It's facile, inane, but one must admit, reasonably entertaining. Don't expect any real history in here because there is none. It's a fictional treatment of the man, but not entirely without merit. For people willing to buy anything on General Grant, this would be something worth owning.