Other editions of book Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant is an autobiography by Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, focused mainly on his military career during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War, and completed as he was dying of throat cancer in 1885. The two-volume set was published by Mark Twain shortly after Grant's death.Twain created a unique marketing system designed to reach millions of veterans with a patriotic appeal just as Grant's death was being mourned. Ten thousand agents canvassed the North, following a script that Twain had devised; many were veterans who dressed in their old uniforms. They sold 350,000 two-volume sets at prices from $3.50 to $12, depending on the binding (roughly $100 to $340 in 2019). Each copy contained what looked like a handwritten note from Grant himself. In the end, Grant's widow, Julia, received about $450,000, suggesting a gross royalty before expenses of about 30%.The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant has been highly regarded by the general public, military historians, and literary critics. Positive attention is often directed toward Grant's prose, which has been praised as shrewd, intelligent, and effective. He portrayed himself in the persona of the honorable Western hero, whose strength lies in his honesty and straightforwardness. He candidly depicts his battles against both the external Confederates and his internal Army foes.

"One of the most unflinching studies of war in our literature." --William McFeeleyAmong the autobiographies of great military figures, Ulysses S. Grant's is certainly one of the finest, and it is arguably the most notable literary achievement of any American president: a lucid, compelling, and brutally honest chronicle of triumph and failure. From his frontier boyhood to his heroics in battle to the grinding poverty from which the Civil War ironically "rescued" him, these memoirs are a mesmerizing, deeply moving account of a brilliant man, told with great courage as he reflects on the fortunes that shaped his life and his character. Written under excruciating circumstances (as Grant was dying of throat cancer), encouraged and edited from its very inception by Mark Twain, it is a triumph of the art of autobiography. The books in the Modern Library War series have been chosen by series editor Caleb Carr according to the significance of their subject matter, their contribution to the field of military history, and their literary merit.

Mark Twain had known many of the great men of the Civil War and the Gilded Age, and esteemed none more highly than Ulysses S. Grant, who was modest, sensitive, generous, honest, and superlatively intelligent. Grant's courage, both moral and physical, was a matter of record. His genius as a general assured his immortality. In 1881, Twain urged Grant to write his memoirs. No one is interested in me, Grant replied. Out of the army, out of office, and out of favor--that was his life now. He reminded Twain that the Military History of Ulysses S. Grant, written by his wartime assistant, Adam Badeau, had sold poorly. And John Russell Young's book, Around the World with General Grant, published in 1879, had been a complete flop. Broke and sick--he began suffering agonizingly painful throat cancer in 1884-- Grant agreed to write four articles for the Century Magazine on some of his Civil War battles, and Century offered to publish his memoirs if only he'd write them. Twain was on a lecture tour when he heard that Grant might be willing to write a book and hurried back to New York to tell Grant that he could arrange for publication of the book by a small firm that he controlled. Grant accepted his offer because Twain had been the first person to suggest he write his memoirs. The inflexible will and powerful mind that helped make Grant a great general were stronger than the torturing pain, the sleepless nights, the terrors of death. Yet there was no sense of this heroic struggle in the narrative he produced with stubby pencils or by dictating to a secretary. The book was like the man himself--often humorous, frequently charming, always lucid, sometimes poignant, generous to his enemies, loyal to his friends. Twain was astonished when he discovered that Grant had produced a considerably longer book than he had contracted to write, but Grant had always tried to give more than was expected of him. He did so even now. Grant finished his book in July 1885. The Memoirs were a triumph. The narrative has the directness and limpidity of the purest English prose as it was first crafted by William Tyndell and then spread throughout the English-speaking world in the King James version of the Bible. Grant had reached deep into himself and into the world history of the Anglo-American people to grasp the core of its culture, the English language. He trusted in that narrative style that achieves its effects by never straining for effect, assembled it into vivid pictures sufficiently understated to allow an intelligent reader's imagination room to expand, and shaped a literary architecture with a born artist's eye. His recollections were inevitably partial and selective. As with all memoirs, Grant's was at its best as a revelation of the way he remembered the events of his tumultuous life and the feelings they evoked in him as death drew near. Its truth was less in the details of what he recalled as in the story he had to tell, of justice triumphant over a great evil. On July 23, 1885, several days after correcting the galley proofs of his book, Grant died in a summer cottage on the slopes of Mount McGregor, New York, surrounded by friends and family. The memoirs, published a few months later, have never been out of print.

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant is an autobiography by Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, focused mainly on his military career during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War, and completed as he was dying of throat cancer in 1885. The two-volume set was published by Mark Twain shortly after Grant's death.Twain created a unique marketing system designed to reach millions of veterans with a patriotic appeal just as Grant's death was being mourned. Ten thousand agents canvassed the North, following a script that Twain had devised; many were veterans who dressed in their old uniforms. They sold 350,000 two-volume sets at prices from $3.50 to $12, depending on the binding (roughly $100 to $340 in 2019). Each copy contained what looked like a handwritten note from Grant himself. In the end, Grant's widow, Julia, received about $450,000, suggesting a gross royalty before expenses of about 30%.The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant has been highly regarded by the general public, military historians, and literary critics.[4] Positive attention is often directed toward Grant's prose, which has been praised as shrewd, intelligent, and effective. He portrayed himself in the persona of the honorable Western hero, whose strength lies in his honesty and straightforwardness. He candidly depicts his battles against both the external Confederates and his internal Army foes.

In this epic 1885 work, General Ulysses S. Grant, eighteenth president of the United States and staunch supporter of the Union cause, set the record straight on his storied life and career. At its heart is Grant, victor and eyewitness to the defining moments of the Civil War, including the Battles of Shiloh, Chattanooga, and the Wilderness; the Siege of Vicksburg; and the Appomattox campaign, which concluded with the surrender of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.Featuring maps, illustrations, and personal correspondence, Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant reveals the candid, often witty, and pragmatic military genius as one of the most vital observers of war and peace in the history of American letters.Revised edition: Previously published as Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, this edition of Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.

Includes Volume I & II. Written in the last year of his life as he battled throat cancer and poverty, "Personal Memoirs" was published by Mark Twain shortly after Grant's death, less than a week after he completed his work. An instant success and praised by admirers, critics, and people throughout the country, this autobiography was a critical and financial success. Grant was praised both for the clarity and succinctness of his writing, and the royalties of the book provided for his family and firmly re-established their financial stability. A model of autobiography to this day, "Personal Memoirs" is a remarkable work of literature, reflecting the man and ideal commander largely responsible for the welfare of his country throughout his life.

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant is an autobiography by Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, focused mainly on his military career during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War, and completed as he was dying of throat cancer in 1885. The two-volume set was published by Mark Twain shortly after Grant's death.Twain created a unique marketing system designed to reach millions of veterans with a patriotic appeal just as Grant's death was being mourned. Ten thousand agents canvassed the North, following a script that Twain had devised; many were veterans who dressed in their old uniforms. They sold 350,000 two-volume sets at prices from $3.50 to $12, depending on the binding (roughly $100 to $340 in 2019). Each copy contained what looked like a handwritten note from Grant himself. In the end, Grant's widow, Julia, received about $450,000, suggesting a gross royalty before expenses of about 30%.The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant has been highly regarded by the general public, military historians, and literary critics. Positive attention is often directed toward Grant's prose, which has been praised as shrewd, intelligent, and effective. He portrayed himself in the persona of the honorable Western hero, whose strength lies in his honesty and straightforwardness. He candidly depicts his battles against both the external Confederates and his internal Army foes.

Charles L. Webster & Company, New York, 1885 –Volume I; 1886 – Volume II. Three-Quarter Leather. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Two volumes in dark brown three-quarter leather with dark brown cloth (silk), Gilt insignia on each volume showing Grant and date of his appointment by joint resolution of Congress in December written on the embossed insignia.Title in gilt on spine with volume number and five raised bands volumes Volume 1, 584 pp and volume 2, 647 pp. Marbled endpapers little use. Scarce, original publisher's deluxe set.

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant is an autobiography that focuses specifically on the 18th U.S. president’s military career, both as a solider during the Mexican–American War, and as an officer and commander of the Union Army during the American Civil War. Completed shortly before his death in 1885, the memoirs became instant bestsellers, thanks in large part to the shrewd marketing of Mark Twain, who had sales agents dressed as Civil War veterans sell the two-volume work door-to-door in the days after Grant died. The work has been praised for its simple, direct prose and for its honesty and candor in dealing with Grant himself as well as his foes.