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  • The Man Who Saved the Union

  • Ulysses Grant in War and Peace
  • By: H. W. Brands
  • Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
  • Length: 27 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)
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The Man Who Saved the Union

By: H. W. Brands
Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
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Summary

From New York Times best-selling author H. W. Brands, a masterful biography of the Civil War general and two-term president who saved the Union twice, on the battlefield and in the White House, holding the country together at two critical turning points in our history.

Ulysses Grant rose from obscurity to discover he had a genius for battle, and he propelled the Union to victory in the Civil War. After Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the disastrous brief presidency of Andrew Johnson, America turned to Grant again to unite the country, this time as president. In Brands' sweeping, majestic full biography, Grant emerges as a heroic figure who was fearlessly on the side of right. He was a beloved commander in the field but willing to make the troop sacrifices necessary to win the war, even in the face of storms of criticism. He worked valiantly to protect the rights of freedmen in the South; Brands calls him the last presidential defender of black civil rights for nearly a century. He played it straight with the American Indians, allowing them to shape their own fate even as the realities of Manifest Destiny meant the end of their way of life. He was an enormously popular president whose memoirs were a huge best seller; yet within decades of his death his reputation was in tatters, the victim of Southerners who resented his policies on Reconstruction. In this page-turning biography, Brands now reconsiders Grant's legacy and provides a compelling and intimate portrait of a man who saved the Union on the battlefield and consolidated that victory as a resolute and principled political leader.

©2012 H. W. Brands; 2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Once again, H. W. Brands has crafted a wonderful portrait of a great leader who endured and prevailed in hours of stress and strain. Brands' U. S. Grant is a compelling figure, a man too often overlooked by history. This book rectifies that with grace and insight." (Jon Meacham, author of American Lion, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography)
"This authoritative biography of an obscure failure and occasional drunkard who became a Civil War generalissimo and the 18th U.S. president is a study in two kinds of moral courage.... [Brands'] narrative of Grant's military campaigns in particular is lucid, colorful, and focused on telling moments of decision. His Grant emerges as an immensely appealing figure...with a keen mind, stout character, and unpretentious manner. The result is a fine portrait of the quintessential American hero." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Too frequently overshadowed or overlooked, U. S. Grant finally gets his due in H. W. Brands' splendid new biography. With verve and his trademark scholarship, Brands vividly brings Grant to life. Here, rendered in all his humanity, is the soldier, statesman, president. Here, too, is a man as much for our time as for his." (Jay Winik, author of April 1865 and The Great Upheaval)

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