1. GRANT ~ PREFACE AND CHAPTERS 1-2 (13 - 69) (10/04/10 - 10/10/10) ~ No spoilers, please

[Steven]

Chris wrote: "One of what I assume will be one of the key themes of the book was summarized in the following quote from the introduction:

"Back and forth, he careened from poverty to riches, from triumph to fai..."

This also reminds me of a contemporary of Grant's (well, slightly older contemporary) - Sam Houston. Like Grant, Houston had problems with drink, and had some major failures and great successes. Also, like Grant, he proved in the end a stalwart upholder of his principles, even when they weren't always popular.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_houston

[Steven]

I actually just started the book this weekend, so I have a lot of catching up to do. However so far I agree that author Smith's writing style is easy to read and informative.

[Bryan]

Great, Steven, glad you started, and no worries, read and comment when you can. We look forward to it!

[Hubert]

Just starting this. Sorry for not keeping up. It sounds interesting though: I like how the preface serves as a historioraphical summary of previous Grant research.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Yes Hubert for sure. You are in for a treat; this is a great read and you learn so much about Grant and probably change an opinion or two (I know that I did).

And Steven and Hubert; you are never too late. A good analogy Steven.

[Steven]

One small point I found interesting about Grant's college career at West Point. Apparently he liked to read a lot during this period, just not so much his assigned course work reading.
He was a big fan of novels, which may have helped him develop his later clear concise writing style. Also, I wonder if he had a more open mind to innovation or change later on in his military career, dut perhaps to the fact. One question, was part of his success due to his lack of discipline as a student? In other words, had he read more about military tactics and strategy of the time and less imaginative, speculative fiction, would he have been as wedded to Napoleonic tactics as Hallett and McClelland and the other generals?

[Bryan]

Great comment, Steven and good question. I hope others chime in on this, as well.

I remember well the fact Grant did a lot of outside reading, and I wish I was more familiar with what he read to get an idea of their writing style to see if it did affect him. It certainly is possible.

I think in general the more you read, the more you can draw upon, and stronger the imagination, the better I think in battle sometimes. I do think he had a vivid imagination, because he liked engineering, as well.

[Hubert]

Very fascinating book.

The first chapter on early biography reads too begrudgingly for my taste, but it was useful to examine how Grant's experiences at the Academy informed his later life.

Smith's tight focus on military history was also cumbersome, but again Grant and General Taylor make out to be rather moderately-minded heroes, especially in light of a more war-mongering Washington directive (p. 57). The political switcharoo that took place between Taylor and Scott was also really interesting.

Smith intelligently inserts quotes from Grant's diary to his fiancee Julie as a way of easing the tension built up during the more militaristic passages.

A great read, and thanks to the organizers of the group and to fellow members for the encouragement! Onward ...

P. S. - the use of maps - REALLY helpful!

[Bryan]

Hubert wrote: "Very fascinating book.

The first chapter on early biography reads too begrudgingly for my taste, but it was useful to examine how Grant's experiences at the Academy informed his later life.

S..."

Glad you liked the book Hubert. I think it would be interesting if Smith wrote a 2 volume history and flushed out more. I had some of the same frustrations about the book being so tight with the history.