Book Review: Grant by Ron Chernow

Grant by Ron Chernow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The man who was Lincoln’s main military and policy instrument then ultimately his true political heir has been maligned as a martial brute to his supposedly noble opponent at the tale end of the American Civil War. Grant by Ron Chernow chronicles the life of one of—if not—the greatest general in American history.

As with many biographers, Chernow goes into generations of Grant’s family history—including alcoholism—as well as the personalities of his parents Jesse and Hannah who each shaped Grant for both good and ill. Much the biography covers Grant’s service in the Civil War and his Presidency, yet in the little over 100 pages that Chernow covers Grant’s life from his youth through West Point and career in the military including the Mexican War then his interwar civilian life. Chernow not only used these pages to chronicle the young Grant’s life, but also how the struggle of alcohol and his business naivete that would cause issues throughout the rest of his life. With the start of the Civil War, Chernow goes in-depth into how Grant his first command and then how he slowly progressed up the chain of command while dealing with the rebel soldiers but army politics. Then upon Grant’s ascent into the high councils of Washington, Chernow shows how he reassured Lincoln that he was his man and fully embraced his agenda. It was this adherence to Lincoln’s vision that ultimately led Grant to accept the Republican nomination in 1868 and his policy in the South throughout his presidency. Throughout the pages dedicated to Grant’s time in office while the scandals surrounding those individuals that he naively appointed and supported were covered but Chernow balanced it out with achievements of Grant and many of his outstanding cabinet members did during the eight years. Though devoting a little more space to the later years of Grant’s life than those prior to 1860, Chernow focused on Grant’s battle with cancer as he raced to write his memoirs then his legacy.

Chernow knowing the general view of Grant as an alcoholic that defeated Lee through manpower and resources then presiding over a scandalous presidency took his time to address during the biography via themes throughout. Grant’s battle with alcohol was a constant theme until the latter end of his presidency and post-presidency when it appears the presence of his wife Julia and Grant’s own determination essentially conquered the problem. Throughout the Civil War portion of the text Chernow examines Grant’s tactical and strategic thinking especially when he was facing off with Robert E. Lee in Virginia or more accurately tying down Lee’s army while the rest of Union forces crushed the armies opposing them and the will of rebel civilians. Chernow’s chronicling of the scandals of Grant’s presidency was firmly tied to Grant’s naivete with people and always supporting people who he believed to be his friends, something that made him a huge mark for flim-flam men of the Gilded Age. While Chernow’s biography could be seen as “revisionism” by today’s historical readers, it could also be seen as reversing the ‘Lost Cause revisionism’ that occurred during Grant’s own lifetime.

Grant is a fantastic addition to Ron Chernow’s chronicle of great American lives like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Chernow shows that while Grant was flawed like everyone else, his status today is beginning to return to where it was after he militarily reunited the country after being diminished by those who wanted to pretend the American Civil War didn’t happen.

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