Customer Reviews

Military History of Ulysses S. Grant, from April, 1861 to April, 1865

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Adam Badeau was a man who served on Grant's staff and who knew him well. Unfortunately, Badeau was venal, conceited, arrogant, cheap and had the character of a con man. Grant, hopelessly naive about many things, never was able to see into the black soul of this snake. Badeau wrote his trilogy between 1868-1881. He sent every chapter to General Grant for comments and corrections. Grant read every word aloud to his wife, Julia, and he would scribble in the margins her comments for Badeau's benefit. This book is the first book of the three he produced on USG's military career.

With this advantage, you would think Badeau could produce an entertaining, engaging book. Forget it, reading this miserable thing is like swimming through pea soup in a London fog. Badeau is no writer and this becomes painfully obvious from the first paragraph onwards. Despite his closeness to Grant and the unprecendented access he had to Grant's opinions, this military history is as interesting as reading a phone book. Avoid this wretched history and save yourself the agony of wading through it.