Rate this book

U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth (2009)

by Joan Waugh(Favorite Author)

3.83 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0807833177 (ISBN13: 9780807833179)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

University of North Carolina Press

review 1: Waugh could have used an editor, but she has a good thesis. The rise, fall, and rise of Grant's reputation--as general as well as President--roughly parallels the rise (think Gone with the Wind and Birth of a Nation) of the Myth of the Lost Cause and the response of mid Twentieth Century historians like Kenneth Stampp, Thomas Connelly, J.F.C. Fuller, and Alan Nolan. I have to give a talk to my Supper Club in May. I plan to base it on this book.
review 2: A thoughtful look at Grant's legacy,not only as a soldier and president, but as a symbol. Waugh reflects the latest scholarship on Grant, whose reputation appears to again be on the rise. In the process, she shines a mirror on much of modern America.It was gratifying to read the author's emphasis on Grant's ... morebelief that the Civil War was caused by slavery -- and that a guarantee of equality for Afrian-Americans should be the result of the Union victory. Grant never wavered from attempting to deliver on that promise, even as his compatriots in the North and in the Republican Party lost interest. Grant's belief in the Union cause came up against and eventually lost out to the South's myth of the Lost Cause.Also interesting is Grant's understandable unhappiness with the idealization and idolization of Robert E. Lee.In spots, this book could have used more careful editing. Overall, though, this is a fine addition to your U.S. Grant bookshelf. Highly recommended. less

Download links for: U. S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth

Advertising