Faced with cancer and financial ruin, the Civil War's greatest general and former president, Ulysses S. Grant wrote his personal memoirs to secure his family's future. In doing so he won himself a unique place in American letters. Acclaimed by writers as diverse as Mark Twain and Gertrude Stein, Grant's memoirs demonstrate the intelligence, intense determination, and laconic modesty that made him the Union's foremost commander. PERSONAL MEMOIRS is devoted almost entirely to his life as a soldier. For their directness and clarity, his writings on war are without rival in American Literature.

James M. McPherson is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Battle Cry of Freedom".

About the Author

Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), the eighteenth president of the United States, graduated from West Point, fought in the Mexican War, and led the Union army to victory in the Civil War.
James M. McPherson, George Henry David Professor of History at Princeton University, is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM.

Reviews
"The best [memoirs] of any general's since Caesar." -Mark Twain

"A unique expression of the national character . . . [Grant] has conveyed the suspense which was felt by himself and his army and by all who believed in the Union cause. The reader finds himself . . . on edge to know how the Civil War is coming out." -Edmund Wilson

"Perhaps the most revelatory autobiography of high command to exist in any language. . . . If there is a single contemporary document which explains 'why the North won the Civil war,' that abiding conundrum of American historical inquiry, it is the Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant." -John Keegan

"Well observed, often humorous, invariably charming, penetrating and lucid . . . On every page, his narrative has the simple directness of the finest English prose, inspired by the King James Bible on which he had been raised. The overall effect is both intimate and majestic." -The Guardian



Book Information
ISBN 9780140437010
Author Ulysses Grant
Format Paperback
Page Count 704
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 440g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm * 38mm