Memoirs and Selected Letters (Library of America, Vol. 50)

Twenty years after Appomattox, stricken by cancer and facing financial ruin, Ulysses S. Grant wrote his Personal Memoirs to secure his family’s future. in doing so, the Civil War’s greatest general won himself a unique place in American letters. His character, intelligence, sense of purpose, and simple compassion are evident throughout this vivid and deeply moving account, which has been acclaimed by readers as diverse asMark Twain, Matthew Arnold, Gertrude Stein, and Edmund Wilson. Annotated and complete with detailed maps, battle plans, and facsimiles reproduced from the original edition, this volume offers an unparalleled vantage on the most terrible, moving, and inexhaustibly fascinating event in American history. included are 174 letters, many of them to his wife, Julia, which offer an intimate view of their affectionate and enduring marriage.

LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

While the complete writings of this pair of Civil Warriors would fill several shelves, the material contained in this two-volume boxed set offers a good selection of their letters and personal reminiscences. Though both of these men are certainly not the most inspirational figures of American history, as two of the paladins of the Union Army, however, Grant and Sherman offer firsthand insights into the waging of the war that cannot be found elsewhere. As historical documents, the significance of these papers is obvious, but the texts also score high points for the quality of the writing itself; Sherman's reflections were hailed by Mark Twain as "a model narrative that will last as long as the language lasts." The hub of the material, of course, focuses on the war years, but Sherman's volume also contains memoirs of his pre-Civil War life in California, and unique to this edition is the inclusion of 175 of Grant's personal letters. More than a reprint of readily available material, these volumes include the same scrupulously detailed notes on the text by recognized scholars that make the Library of America editions superior to their predecessors. This fine set belongs in most history collections. Highly recommended.
- Michael Rogers, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.