The History Book Club discussion

This will be the thread which will house the table of contents and syllabus for the Presidential Series read: Grant by Jean Edward Smith.

Jean Edward Smith

Ulysses S. Grant was the first four-star general in the history of the United States Army and the only president between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson to serve eight consecutive years in the White House. As general in chief, Grant revolutionized modern warfare. Rather than capture enemy territory or march on Southern cities, he concentrated on engaging and defeating the Confederate armies in the field, and he pursued that strategy relentlessly. As president, he brought stability to the country after years of war and upheaval. He tried to carry out the policies of Abraham Lincoln, the man he admired above all others, and to a considerable degree he succeeded. Yet today, Grant is remembered as a brilliant general but a failed president.

In this comprehensive biography, Jean Edward Smith reconciles these conflicting assessments of Grant's life. He argues convincingly that Grant is greatly underrated as a president. Following the turmoil of Andrew Johnson's administration, Grant guided the nation through the post- Civil War era, overseeing Reconstruction of the South and enforcing the freedoms of new African-American citizens. His presidential accomplishments were as considerable as his military victories, says Smith, for the same strength of character that made him successful on the battlefield also characterized his years in the White House.

Smith dispels the myth that Grant was a brutal general who willingly sacrificed his soldiers, pointing out that Grant's casualty ratio was consistently lower than Lee's. At the end of the war, Grant's generous terms to the Confederates at Appomattox foreshadowed his generosity to the South as president. But, as Smith notes, Grant alsohad his weaknesses. He was too trusting of his friends, some of whom schemed to profit through their association with him. Though Grant himself always acted honorably, his presidential administration was rocked by scandals.

"He was the steadfast center about and on which everything else turned," Philip Sheridan wrote, and others who served under Grant felt the same way. It was this aura of stability and integrity that allowed Grant as president to override a growing sectionalism and to navigate such national crises as the Panic of 1873 and the disputed Hayes-Tilden election of 1876.

At the end of his life, dying of cancer, Grant composed his memoirs, which are still regarded by historians as perhaps the finest military memoirs ever written. They sold phenomenally well, and Grant the failed businessman left his widow a fortune in royalties from sales of the book. His funeral procession through the streets of Manhattan closed the city, and behind his pallbearers, who included both Confederate and Union generals, marched thousands of veterans from both sides of the war.

I just want to say that I have started this book and it is fabulous so far.

This is an excerpt from a Fortune magazine interview with General Petraeus where he references Grant by Jean Edward Smith and also Catton's book.

Excerpt:

Do you have a particular leadership hero or role model?

I do. I think Ulysses Grant was vastly underrated, and not only as a general. I think gradually people have grudgingly come to recognize extraordinary qualities that he had. There's a great book by Jean Edward Smith titled Grant, and Grant Takes Command by Bruce Catton is another. I think those two together are truly both really great works. He just had this sheer determination: "I'll fight it out all summer on this line if I have to." Of course he ended up having to fight not just all summer, but all fall, all winter, and into the spring.


Jean Edward Smith

Bruce Catton

Full Fortune magazine article link:

Source was General Petraeus on Leadership -

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/...

Folks, Bryan has put together the table of contents and the syllabus for this book:

Table of Contents

Preface p.13

ONE: The Early Years p.21
TWO: Mexico p.34
THREE: Resignation p.70
FOUR: War p.98
FIVE: "Unconditional Surrender" p.133
SIX: Shiloh p.167
SEVEN: Vicksburg p.206
EIGHT: Chattanooga p. 258
NINE: General in Chief p. 284
TEN: The Wilderness p. 313
ELEVEN: Grant and Lee p. 340
TWELVE: Appomattox p. 369
THIRTEEN: Reconstruction p. 408
FOURTEEN: Let Us Have Peace p. 431
FIFTEEN: Grant in the White House p. 458
SIXTEEN: Diplomacy p. 491
SEVENTEEN: Great White Father p. 516
EIGHTEEN: Reconstruction Revisited p. 542
NINETEEN: The Gilded Age p. 573
TWENTY: Taps p. 606

Notes p. 629
Bibliography p. 707
Acknowledgments p. 747
Index p. 427

Syllabus

Week One - October 4th - October 10th -> Preface, Chapter ONE, and Chapter TWO p. 13 - 69
PREFACE, ONE - The Early Years, and TWO - Mexico

Week Two - October 11th - October 17th -> Chapter THREE and FOUR. p. 70 -132
THREE - Resignation and FOUR - War

Week Three - October 18th - October 24th -> Chapter FIVE and SIX p. 133 - 205
FIVE - "Unconditional Surrender" and SIX - Shiloh

Week Four - October 25th - October 31st -> Chapter SEVEN p. 206 - 257
Chapter SEVEN - Vicksburg

Week Five - November 1st - November 7th -> Chapters EIGHT and NINE p. 258 - 312
EIGHT - Chattanooga and NINE - General in Chief

Week Six - November 8th - November 14th -> Chapters TEN and ELEVEN p. 313 - 368
TEN - The Wilderness and ELEVEN - Grant and Lee

Week Seven - November 15th - November 21st -> Chapter TWELVE p. 369 - 407
TWELVE - Appomattox

Week Eight - November 22nd - November 28th ->
Chapter THIRTEEN and FOURTEEN p. 408 - 457
THIRTEEN - Reconstruction and FOURTEEN - Les Us Have Peace

Week Nine - November 29th - December 5th ->
FIFTEEN - Grant in the White House and SIXTEEN - Diplomacy p. 458 - 515

Week Ten - December 6th - December 12th - > Chapter SEVENTEEN and EIGHTEEN p. 516 - 572
SEVENTEEN - Great White Father and EIGHTEEN - Reconstruction Revisited

Week Eleven - December 13th - December 19th - > Chapter NINETEEN and TWENTY p. 573 - 628
NINETEEN -The Gilded Age and TWENTY - Taps

Just as an FYI: Please note that normally all Presidential Series reads and Historical Fiction reads are three months long. However, for Grant we are starting on October 4th and ending on December 19th so that everybody can be finished up with the book prior to Christmas week; other religious holidays and New Years. Makes sense for members and for the moderators to have some downtime for spiritual endeavors, rest, relaxation and family. Of course, you can always catch up and post after that date if you are catching up. You can even post during Christmas week if you like; we just do not want to "assign" any reading during those weeks for members or moderators.

Also, Brian is using the hardcover version which is:

Grant (Hardcover)
isbn: 0684849267
isbn13: 9780684849263
format: Hardcover

Unofficially, right Bentley ;-). I have my copy and I look forward to cracking it open very soon. I'm also looking forward to our discussion.

Historians are beginning to revise their outlook on his administration, at least arguing it was not such a horrible mess that the text books led you to believe. We will see how it goes.

I agree Bryan. However, the Grant discussion does not begin until October.

Bentley wrote: "I agree Bryan. However, the Grant discussion does not begin until October."

I thought so. I had to double check once your post came up.

Got my copy, started reading it in conjunction with Catton's two volumes for comparison -- looks good, ready to go in October!

Great, Prunesquallor, glad to have you on board. You will have to share some Catton insights with us.

I am going to join in reading and discussing the Grant biography. this will be my first venture in an online book discussion group. I am looking forward to it.

Jim

Great, Jimwenz, glad to have you along. We are pretty relaxed, so go on your own pace.

Count me in! I just picked up a copy of the book and can't wait to start.

That is great Mick...it is a wonderful book.

It is a good book so far, should be fun.

I got a copy from my library. This will be my first online book club read. I've heard some good things about this book. I am looking forward to reading it with you all!

Glad to have you join us, Brian.

Bentley wrote: "This is an excerpt from a Fortune magazine interview with General Petraeus where he references Grant by Jean Edward Smith and also Catton's book.

Excerpt:

Do you have a particular leadership hero..."

Hello Robert,

Are you having some problems posting, I know you did awhile ago. You will get the hang of it; but I do not understand your post (message 18). You may want to give it another try.

Bentley wrote: "This is an excerpt from a Fortune magazine interview with General Petraeus where he references Grant by Jean Edward Smith and also Catton's book.

Excerpt:

Do you have a particular leadership hero..."

Bentley wrote: "This is an excerpt from a Fortune magazine interview with General Petraeus where he references Grant by Jean Edward Smith and also Catton's book.

Excerpt:

Do you have a particular leadership hero..."

Robert,

Just start typing in the comment box. Then after completing typing, you can preview by looking at the preview screen; you get there by clicking the word preview to the right of post.

Then if your preview is alright click close or the X and then you are back to your original spot.

Then just press post and away you go.

Bentley,
I agree completely with you on using Catton's book, "Grant Takes Command", as a companion to Jean Edward Smith's book. Catton gives a wonderful history of Grant not only as a general, but also his correspondence with Lincoln, his personal life, relationship with his wife, his development as a war strategist and his attitudes about slavery, Reconstruction, etc. It will be fun to compare their treatment of events in the Civil War as well as their interpretations of Grant's abilities and leadership.
I'm back with the book club after an absence, and I'mm looking forward to this discussion.
Robert

Robert, we are delighted to have you. I am glad that you have found us again and have figured out how to post.

The next thing you have to learn is how to add the book cover, the author's photo and author's link (which is the author's name in linkable text). I think you might need some directions to be able to do this. There is a thread called Mechanics of the Board which might give you some detailed help.

Here is a link to the Mechanics of the Board thread:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

This should help you tremendously I hope.

I will add the citations you were not able to complete in post 22.

First you mentioned Jean Edward Smith and his book:

Jean Edward Smith

I was able to add all three parts.

Then you mentioned Catton's book. Here is that citation:

Bruce Catton

And for this citation we had all three parts too.

I am sure that you will enjoy tremendously the discussion about Grant from Jean Edward Smith's perspective. But we will not be focusing on Catton (but of course, his comments may come up).

I think you will enjoy the moderation style of Bryan Craig who is leading this discussion.

The discussion has its own folder. Here is the thread to the discussion itself.

This is this week's opening thread:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

I hope you enjoy discussing Grant. I absolutely loved this book.

Thanks Robert for the post; let us know if you need help citing books.

I just got my copy in the mail today.

Terrific...it is a great book. You should like it and the discussion.

Indeed, a real pleasure to read.