Skip to main content

Book Review: Grant by Mitchell Yockelson


It has been one hundred and fifty years since the Civil War and Ulysses S. Grant is still considered one of the greatest officers of the United States Army. He didn't want to be a soldier but when his father submitted an application to West Point for his son, Grant reluctantly attended. Grant served in the Mexican War and distinguished himself in combat.  He continued to serve until shortly after he married.  Grant wanted to be with his family so he resigned.

He spent years trying to make a living in several different careers but when the country split apart in 1861 and war between the northern and southern states erupted, Grant knew he needed to serve his country.  He believed it was his duty to do so. When he was unable to secure a commission with the regular army because of unproven rumours that he was a heavy drinker, he signed up with the Illinois volunteer army. Grant was a natural leader and rose quickly to Commander of the Union Army. 

After the war, Grant became the eighteenth president of the United States, serving two terms.  Even though he wasn't a politician he was able to do fairly well especially in the areas of Reconstruction.

When Grant was diagnosed with throat cancer he rushed to complete his memoirs.  His two-volume memoirs were completed days before he died and were published posthumously in 1885. They are considered to be the greatest work of the genre and through them his military contributions remain with us always.

I have reviewed several books now for Thomas Nelson Publishers.  Grant:  Savior of the Union by Mitchell Yockelson is the second I've read in The Generals series.  It has a great deal of good information to share and it is an interesting read but the writing is stilted and there is a lack of connection between Grant and the reader.  I do recommend this book but perhaps not with both thumbs up.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Week #2 Challenge: Paper . . . and I mean ALL of your paper.

Annual Organization Challenge Week #2   How did you make out with last week's challenge? Did you find your work table? Here's this week's challenge: Your challenge this week is to  S.P.A.C.E.  your paper - - and I mean ALL of your paper: cardstock, patterned paper, specialty papers, and all those SCRAPS! SORT:  Bring all of your paper to one area. Sort it all into piles: KEEP, SELL, DONATE, TRASH PURGE:  bag up, and assign a price to paper bundles that you want to SELL at a garage sale or online, and put the bags in the garage sale box. Throw out the TRASH pile. Bag up the DONATE pile and immediately make arrangements for drop-off/pick-up or put  in your vehicle. ASSIGN:  separate your paper into categories that make sense to you. For example, you may want to divide it simply into cardstock and patterned paper. If you have a huge stash of paper, you may want to divide it by colour, theme, or manufacturer. **Another way to...

Journal Prompt ~ One Thing You Do Really Well

Name one thing you do really well . . .  One thing I do really well is solve crossword puzzles.

Craft Space Get Organized Challenge #2

How did you make out with last week's challenge? Did you find your work table?  Quite a few people sent me photos over Facebook and email.  Thanks so much!  I'm glad you are all enjoying playing along. Here's this week's challenge: Week #2 Challenge: Paper . . . and I mean ALL of your paper . Your challenge this week is to S.P.A.C.E. your paper - - and I mean ALL of your paper: cardstock, patterned paper, specialty papers, and all those SCRAPS! Step 1 SORT: Bring all of your paper to one area. Sort it all into piles: KEEP, SELL, DONATE, TRASH. Step 2 PURGE: bag up, and assign a price to paper bundles that you want to SELL at a garage sale or online, and put the bags in the garage sale box. Throw out the TRASH pile. Bag up the DONATE pile and immediately make arrangements for drop-off/pick-up or put in your vehicle. Step 3 ASSIGN: separate your paper into categories that make sense to you. For example, you may want to divide it simply into cardstock and patterned ...