The Trial of U.S. Grant: The Pacific Coast Years, 1852-1854 (Frontier Military Series) [Hardcover]

Charles G. Ellington (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Arthur H Clark; First edition. edition (February 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870621696
• ISBN-13: 978-0870621697
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,155,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( G ) > Grant, Ulysses S.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine, accurate book, January 8, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: The Trial of U.S. Grant: The Pacific Coast Years, 1852-1854 (Frontier Military Series) (Hardcover)

Most people who know nothing about Ulysses Grant always ask, "Wasn't he a drunkard?" The rivers of alcohol, real and imagined, flow from his time in California and the Oregon territory, 1852-54. This book explores the rumors of Grant's drinking and his life while on the west coast. Ellington is not a spectacular writer, and his style is a little dry, but the content of the book is interesting and accurate. Grant's much-adored wife, Julia, was pregnant when he was ordered to the coast and she couldn't accompany him. His loneliness for her and his sons was responsible for much of his descent into drinking.

If you have an interest in Grant's life before the civil war, this is a sober and reflective work. Don't expect many fireworks in the writing department, but it's still an interesting read.