We recently asked a number of top Civil War historians to let us know their favorite books about Ulysses S. Grant. The results are below. The books are ranked in order of popularity and accompanied by selected explanations from our panelists.
“One of the classic military autobiographies of all time.”
—Allen C. Guelzo
“Grant had a way of telling his story that left you believing he must be right in a lasting masterpiece of American literature.”
—Brooks D. Simpson
“This book is perfectly balanced in so many ways: It integrates Grant’s military career and his presidency, illuminates his personality as well
as his image and legacy, and it both reaches out to general readers and offers news insights for the scholarly experts.”
—Elizabeth Varon
“Chernow’s biography of Grant is the best—the fullest, best researched, and most readable—of the large number of Grant bios.”
—James M. McPherson
“In my view, Catton understood Grant the general and Grant the man better than any other Grant biographer.”
—Stephen W. Sears
“It is my favorite because of McFeely’s complex and engaging portrait of the man.”
—Lesley Gordon
Other Selected Books:
Captain Sam Grant by Lloyd Lewis (4%)
Grant by Jean Edward Smith (4%)
Let Us Have Peace by Brooks D. Simpson (4%)
American Ulysses by Ronald C. White (4%)
This information appeared in the Monitor‘s special issue Grant vs Lee.
