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  • Grant

  • Written by: Ron Chernow
  • Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
  • Length: 48 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (125 ratings)

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Grant

Written by: Ron Chernow
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
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Publisher's Summary

The #1 New York Times bestseller and New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2017

“Eminently readable but thick with import . . . Grant hits like a Mack truck of knowledge.”—Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic

Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant.

Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman, or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow shows in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.

Before the Civil War, Grant was flailing. His business ventures had ended dismally, and despite distinguished service in the Mexican War he ended up resigning from the army in disgrace amid recurring accusations of drunkenness. But in war, Grant began to realize his remarkable potential, soaring through the ranks of the Union army, prevailing at the battle of Shiloh and in the Vicksburg campaign, and ultimately defeating the legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Along the way, Grant endeared himself to President Lincoln and became his most trusted general and the strategic genius of the war effort. Grant’s military fame translated into a two-term presidency, but one plagued by corruption scandals involving his closest staff members.

More important, he sought freedom and justice for black Americans, working to crush the Ku Klux Klan and earning the admiration of Frederick Douglass, who called him “the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race.” After his presidency, he was again brought low by a dashing young swindler on Wall Street, only to resuscitate his image by working with Mark Twain to publish his memoirs, which are recognized as a masterpiece of the genre.

With lucidity, breadth, and meticulousness, Chernow finds the threads that bind these disparate stories together, shedding new light on the man whom Walt Whitman described as “nothing heroic... and yet the greatest hero.” Chernow’s probing portrait of Grant's lifelong struggle with alcoholism transforms our understanding of the man at the deepest level. This is America's greatest biographer, bringing movingly to life one of our finest but most underappreciated presidents. The definitive biography, Grant is a grand synthesis of painstaking research and literary brilliance that makes sense of all sides of Grant's life, explaining how this simple Midwesterner could at once be so ordinary and so extraordinary.

Named one of the best books of the year by Goodreads • Amazon • The New York Times • Newsday BookPage Barnes and Noble • Wall Street Journal

©2017 Ron Chernow (P)2017 Penguin Audio
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What the critics say

“This is a good time for Ron Chernow’s fine biography of Ulysses S. Grant to appear . . . As history, it is remarkable, full of fascinating details sure to make it interesting both to those with the most cursory knowledge of Grant’s life and to those who have read his memoirs or any of several previous biographies . . . For all its scholarly and literary strengths, this book’s greatest service is to remind us of Grant’s significant achievements at the end of the war and after, which have too long been overlooked and are too important today to be left in the dark . . . As Americans continue the struggle to defend justice and equality in our tumultuous and divisive era, we need to know what Grant did when our country’s very existence hung in the balance. If we still believe in forming a more perfect union, his steady and courageous example is more valuable than ever.”—Bill Clinton, New York Times Book Review

Grant is vast and panoramic in ways that history buffs will love. Books of its caliber by writers of Chernow’s stature are rare, and this one qualifies as a major event . . . . Chernow is clearly out to find undiscovered nobility in his story, and he succeeds; he also finds uncannily prescient tragedy. There are ways in which Grant’s times eerily resemble our own . . . Indispensable.”—The New York Times

“Chernow tells all this rapidly and well; his talent is suited to Grant’s story . . . He is extraordinarily good on what could be called, unpejoratively, the Higher Gossip of History—he can uncannily detect the actual meaning beneath social interactions . . . Fluent and intelligent.”—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker

What listeners say about Grant

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what a story, what a life, what a book

it's hard to imagine a better job of telling a life story in it's original and unique time and place, making it timeless and universal, and so current, all at the same time. a truly epic story, well written and well read. with it's length and production quality, it was at 50 hours (at 1.8 x production speed) my favourite "podcast" of the plague year 2021.

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10/10

The narration was excellent the book was mesmerizing. I felt like I rode along with Grant through his early years, the war, his presidency, and afterwards. Grant was genuinely a good and decent man, and rightly deserves his place in history. 10/10

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Interesting, educational, good to know facts...

I loved the narrator, he made it more interesting. The author painted an accurate picture of the political shenanigans of the time...not much changed since...

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Overall great book

I learned a lot from this book and I don't think that you could find a more comprehensive biography of Hiram Ulysses Grant. I have to say, though, that this was a bit more than I was bargaining for. For my purposes, I really did not need to know each passing thought that Grant had. It was a bit tedious at times which made me disengage and then I would lose some key point and I had to rewind. Overall, it was a very interesting book and the narrator is also very good.

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Fantastic!

This is a l-o-n-g audio book but so intense and interesting! I learned so much about US Grant, both his shortcomings and triumphs!

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Interesting and listening pleasure.

I totally enjoyed getting to know President Grant through this book. Amazing writing and narrative.

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Outstanding Biography

Ron Chernow is at his best in recounting the military genius of Grant as well as his personal weaknesses and struggles. He portrays an underappreciated president who was ahead of his time in supporting freedom for slaves and opposing those who sought to reverse reconstruction in the south. He overcame the scourge of alcoholism and succumbed repeatedly to the wiles of manipulative scoundrels. It is a story of scaling the heights and falling into intolerable depths. It's a moving, inspirational story of a great soldier and president.

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Truly Great

Though partial as he's one of my favourite historical figures, 'Grant' still stands out as one of the best books I've ever come across. Just does a superb job of humanizing one of the Great American Leaders.

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Inspiring

What a great man! I very much enjoyed the writing and performance. Worth every minute.

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A triumph

Grant may even surpass Chernow's previous epic on Rockefeller as my favourite biography. It is a tour de force that has completely changed my understanding of one of America's greatest figures. Chernow's masterpiece will no doubt ensure that President Grant is restored to his rightful place amongst America's foremost presidents.

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1 person found this helpful