House Divided: The Lives of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee [Hardcover]

Jules Archer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1995

Recounting a significant time in American history from the viewpoints of the Civil War's top rival generals, an account of their military careers follows their experiences from Bull Run to the fall of Richmond and from Shiloh to Sherman's march through Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up?A rather superficial overview of the lives of the two great generals. In alternating chapters, Archer looks at Grant and Lee's formative years and early careers. He then highlights their roles in the war, occasionally stopping at particular battles to demonstrate each man's character through his actions. The final two chapters tell of the subjects' postwar lives. Unfortunately, the author spends more time on the Civil War than on these two fascinating and very different men, and the breakneck speed with which readers are taken through the conflict will certainly confuse those with little background in the subject. The coverage seems to favor Lee, even though efforts are made to demythologize him. All of his illnesses and injuries are covered in great depth. The author also seems to dwell on reports of Grant's drinking. The book is illustrated with two clusters of good-quality, black-and-white reproductions. Students looking for biographical material on these figures will find more information in Albert Marrin's Unconditional Surrender and Virginia's General (both Atheneum, 1994).?Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590483250
• ISBN-13: 978-0590483254
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,297,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Utterly vapid, August 1, 2000

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: House Divided: The Lives Of U.S. Grant & R.E. Lee (Scholastic Biography) (Mass Market Paperback)

Unless you're purchasing this book for a child, avoid it. The text is written at the level of a fourth grader and the conclusions drawn are about as weighty. There are numerous errors pockmarking the book, some of them not inconsequential (Grant did not graduate from West Point in 1845, but 1843).

If you want a readable and scholarly book on either Grant or Lee, don't buy a dual biography. Each man is much too vast and important to cover in such a manner. Opt for Emory Thomas' Lee biography and Campaigning with Grant by Horace Porter. These books will illuminate the titans of the civil war much better than this sorry effort.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent beginners' biography of Lee and Grant, August 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: House Divided: The Lives Of U.S. Grant & R.E. Lee (Scholastic Biography) (Mass Market Paperback)

Not everyone is excited by history or the Civil War or even biographies of historical personalities. My daughters (age 14) were required in home school to read biographies of famous Americans. They were easily inspired by biographies of women -- entertainers, leaders, women who overcame adversity. But men were less interesting. And men known specifically for their historical contributions were downright boring. One of my twins started reading this book and loved it. The side-by-side biographical sketches provided enough information to interest her and offered a format for making snapshot comparisons. She is definitely NOT a history buff and is NOT a lover of biographies; however, for a short piece of her life she took time off from the Hardy Boys and read about (and discussed) two great men, the Civil War, and pieces of American history. (She went on to read about Civil War photography.)

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, April 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: House Divided: The Lives Of U.S. Grant & R.E. Lee (Scholastic Biography) (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought that "A House Divided: The Lives of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee" was a wonderful book. I especillay liked it because I'm a Civil War fenatic. It was not only intresting but accurate. It was a fun to read book. It tells about how Grant, a contry boy who grew up on a farm in Ohio who when he was about 17 went to West Point and graduated yet the sight of blood made him loose his apitate yet he went to war and won against Lee. Lee was a proper slave owner and grew up on his father's plantaion, he had manners and was a very good student at West Point. Yet he was one if not the 1st. person to graduate from his class at West Piont and still lost to gruffy Grant. Read this book if you want to learn more about Lee and Grant. It also has pictures of them.