Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the first officer since George Washington to become a four-star general in the United States Army, and the only president between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson to serve eight consecutive years in the White House. However, Grant was also plagued by financial troubles and is today remembered as a brilliant general but a failed president. Acclaimed author Michael Korda tells the story of this brilliant but complex figure in Ulysses S. Grant.

Assessing Grant both within the context of his own era and in contrast to more recent American leaders, Korda reconciles the conflicting evaluations of his leadership abilities. Although Grant’s second term ended in political and financial scandal, Korda points out that for eight years, Grant was a calming influence on a country that had only just emerged from a horrendous civil war. Ulysses S. Grant is an even-handed and informative portrait of the man who guided America through a pivotal juncture in its history.

Ulysses S. Grant is part of the Eminent Lives series, in which a culturally and historically prominent figure is paired with a uniquely excellent writer.

Michael Korda is the former editor in chief of Simon & Schuster and is the author of many books, including Ike: An American Hero and With Wings Like Eagles: A History of the Battle of Britain. He served in the Royal Air Force and lives in Dutchess County, New York.

“Those whose only perception of Ulysses S. Grant is that of an all-but-forgotten Civil War general, an inept president, and a failed businessman would do well to read Michael Korda’s short but illuminating biography.” — Henry Kissinger