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Grant Takes Command Kindle Edition

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,409 ratings

The Pulitzer Prize–winning historian’s “lively and absorbing” biography of Ulysses S. Grant and his leadership during the Civil War (The New York Times Book Review).
 
This conclusion to Bruce Catton’s acclaimed history of General Grant begins in the summer of 1863. After Grant’s bold and decisive triumph over the Confederate Army at Vicksburg, President Lincoln promoted him to the head of the Army of the Potomac. The newly named general was virtually unknown to the Union’s military high command, but he proved himself in the brutal closing year and a half of the War Between the States. Grant’s strategic brilliance and unshakeable tenacity crushed the Confederacy in the battles of the Overland Campaign in Virginia and the Siege of Petersburg.
 
In the spring of 1865, Grant finally forced Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, thus ending the bloodiest conflict on American soil. Although tragedy struck only days later when Lincoln—whom Grant called “incontestably the greatest man I have ever known”—was assassinated, Grant’s military triumphs would ensure that the president’s principles of unity and freedom would endure.
 
In
Grant Takes Command, Catton offers readers an in-depth portrait of an extraordinary warrior and unparalleled military strategist whose brilliant battlefield leadership saved an endangered Union.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Bruce Catton

“One of America’s foremost Civil War authorities.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Nothing in our time makes the Civil War as alive as the writings of Bruce Catton.” —The Baltimore Sun

“The Civil War found its place and its popular voice in Catton.” —American Heritage

“[Catton] has the rare gift of doing enormous research and then presenting it in what is almost a motion picture in color.” —The New York Times

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B015DJ7D4I
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (November 3, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 3, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4438 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 574 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,409 ratings

About the author

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Bruce Catton
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Charles Bruce Catton (October 9, 1899 – August 28, 1978) was an American historian and journalist, best known for his books on the American Civil War. Known as a narrative historian, Catton specialized in popular history, featuring colorful characters and historical vignettes, in addition to the basic facts, dates, and analyses. Although his books were well researched and supported by footnotes, they were not generally presented in a rigorous academic style. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1954 for A Stillness at Appomattox, his study of the final campaign of the war in Virginia.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Library of Congress (File:Bruce Catton LC-USZ62-132904.jpg) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
1,409 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and informative. They praise the writing quality, describing the man and his military philosophy. The book provides an interesting biography of one of the key figures in history, with well-researched insights into the Union Army and the Civil War. Readers appreciate the author's focus on facts and human elements while keeping the narrative dense with details. Overall, customers consider the trilogy excellent with this book as the best installment.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

89 customers mention "Readability"89 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. It provides an informative and entertaining history of the Civil War that educates and entertains. Readers appreciate the detail and say it's an excellent addition to the military biography of Grant.

"Written by one the best author's of the 20th Century. This was a classic text for the Centennial of the ' War of Northern Aggression '." Read more

"A fascinating read to say the least...." Read more

"...It's a fine book and I will finish it, but it is irritating for those true war buffs. *..." Read more

"An excellent book, with excellent research...." Read more

73 customers mention "Writing quality"67 positive6 negative

Customers find the book well-written and easy to read. They appreciate the detailed account of Grant's years as Union commander. The author is considered one of the leading writers on the Civil War, and the first-person narrative provides a deeper understanding of the man than other accounts.

"Written by one the best author's of the 20th Century. This was a classic text for the Centennial of the ' War of Northern Aggression '." Read more

"...Catton brings up a lot of interesting insight into other generals, Burnside, Sheridan etc, but with Sherman, he puts only ONE page of his..." Read more

"...In this biography, Bruce Catton does an excellent job describing the man and his military philosophy...." Read more

"...Lee's surrender at Appomattox and beyond, Catton's writing style is anything but dry; he sprinkles his account with vivid details, at times painting..." Read more

46 customers mention "History"46 positive0 negative

Customers find the book an informative and entertaining history of the Civil War. It provides a fascinating biography of one of the key figures in history, Grant. The book covers the Union Army and military strategy in an engaging narrative style. Readers appreciate the insights into military politics and the battles mentioned in the book. Overall, it's described as an excellent companion piece to Grant's memoirs and considered one of the greatest historians of all time.

"...If you’re looking for a good in-depth analysis of General Grant and the battles he fought, I highly recommend it. Five Stars" Read more

"...I found Catton's historical judgment to be sound, and I very much appreciate learning more about General Grant and learning more about the American..." Read more

"This is a highly readable, informative and enjoyable history (written in narrative style) of the end of Grant’s western campaign..." Read more

"...In my opinion it is Grant not Lee who is the best leader of the Civil War...." Read more

31 customers mention "Insight"31 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-researched and informative. They appreciate the author's focus on the facts and not doing unnecessary details. The book is dense with facts but always keeping the human element. Readers praise the author's writing style and mastery of the source material on which it's based. Overall, it's a great summary of Grant's strategy that defeated the South.

"An excellent book, with excellent research...." Read more

"Dense with facts, but always in keeping with the human element. Good reading for knowledge, with unexpected instances of intense emotion." Read more

"This is a highly readable, informative and enjoyable history (written in narrative style) of the end of Grant’s western campaign..." Read more

"...Grant was a brilliant tactician, but more important a genius strategist...." Read more

12 customers mention "Pacing"12 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's pacing. They find the series excellent and this final volume the best. The chapters flow well and are suspenseful, portraying the human perspective of a great general who persevered to a great victory.

"...; and "Not War but Murder." The former is without an ounce of fanfare, contains omissions and yet is revealing in the nature of the first..." Read more

"...A great read and followup to the first book. Do read." Read more

"The whole series was excellent but this final volume was the best...." Read more

"...had the fate of the nation in his hands and who persevered to a great and final victory...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2024
    Written by one the best author's of the 20th Century. This was a classic text for the Centennial of the ' War of Northern Aggression '.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2017
    A fascinating read to say the least. With Grant fresh off his victory at Vicksburg, Lincoln believes he’s finally found a man who can lead the union forces and end the rebellion. Grant wasn’t thrilled with the assignment for e knew that he wouldn’t just be taking over the Army of the Potomac and fighting the rebels, he would also be fighting with Generals who had strong political ties with Washington elite. How many men have been successful fighting a two-front war?

    Grant’s demeanor and writing skills were his weapons of choice. Being a pragmatic with no political ambitions he dealt with the unique problems by addressing them with curt responses or aletter to Halleck and Secretary of War Stanton.

    He did what none of his predecessors could do, he devised a plan and stuck to it even when prudence would have said retreat. He knew the key to victory was keeping Lee worried about losing Richmond. Some of the battles in modern terms were a disaster as losses mounted. Think about the losses at Tarawa and you get the picture. Rather than listen to the press of the NE can soldiered on. He stuck to his plan, with the support of Lincoln and in the end, his plan proved true. There were moments where he did question his own plan, but realized in the end, it was sound.

    What I didn’t know was how devoted he was to his wife and family. Most of the history I was taught about him wasn’t flattering. They never mentioned his letters to home and his undying love and concern for his family. I find this on the same level as Patton felt for his family. That’s pretty good company.

    If you’re looking for a good in-depth analysis of General Grant and the battles he fought, I highly recommend it.

    Five Stars
    5 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2017
    I would have given this 3 stars, but the writing and research is just incredible.

    Here's my beef;

    1.) The author goes into WAY TOO much detail. A lot of you, will probably scoff at this, but I have read enumerable war books,
    It's as if he HAD to include every news article, every letter written, every dispatch sent. I am just finishing the chapter on the battle of the
    Wilderness. He describes how a certain river or creek flowed, such the Po. ' It travels north for 3 miles then bends it way back for a short
    distance before it starts to bend south." Really? Who cares, it ads nothing to the strategic outcome of a battle or THE battle. Which leads
    me my next demerit...

    2.) In my Kindle version there are too few maps and very difficult to read or understand troop movements. Trying to follow the battle of the Wilderness is near impossible. With a no maps to show troop
    deployments ( thru the entire battle ) one is just left guessing. I feel its a major error of this book!

    3.) I felt he could have included thoughts of Lee and some of his conclusions of the battles. I know this is a book about Grant, but without
    describing his adversary, it becomes one-dimensional.

    4.) Catton brings up a lot of interesting insight into other generals, Burnside, Sheridan etc, but with Sherman, he puts only ONE page of his march thru the south. I thought this should have been gone into much more, as it greatly affected Grants overall strategy.

    It's a fine book and I will finish it, but it is irritating for those true war buffs.

    * Oddly, Amazon shows the author's bio, listing him dying in 1978. Yet the book is published in 2015. Uh?
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2023
    An excellent book, with excellent research. What screams out at the reader is the fact the Union Armies were commanded by Generals too afraid to fight, a missed victory was better than a possibility of a loss. A sort of paralysis of the mind. It makes me shudder when I think of all the wasted lives, lost because of the incompetent Generals who should have been relieved but were not due to political connections. Did this happen in future wars? I am afraid to admit it but very likely. Why was George Marshall not relieved when he failed to warn
    troops at Pearl Harbor an attack was coming, he was in fact out of touch riding his horse at 7am Pearl Harbor time, must have his horse ride! Why was Douglas MacArthur not relieved when, 12 hours after Pearl Harbor, US forces on the Philippine Islands had not made ANY preparations for defense. Same reason, friends in high places. Sickening!
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2022
    When asked, what sort of man is Grant, Lincoln replied that Ulysses S. Grant was “the quietest little fellow you ever saw. The only evidence you have that he’s in any place is that he makes things git! Wherever he is, things move.

    Lincoln explained that every other general briefing him before a battle told him that he was short some crucial resource to ensure victory, but, if ordered, they would proceed anyway. This essential resource was almost always cavalry. Lincoln claimed their real purpose was to shift responsibility to him. When Grant took charge, he immediately recommended reassigning twenty thousand horseless cavalrymen to the infantry. Since there was no way to acquire horses for every man designated as cavalry, these idle soldiers were only held in reserve as a handy excuse. Grant recognized the duplicity and removed the excuse before his first battle.

    In this biography, Bruce Catton does an excellent job describing the man and his military philosophy. Grant reminded me of General Patton, a warrior through and through. Both believed that to decrease casualties in war, you don’t minimize the fallen in a specific battle, you win the war to stop the killing.

    Catton relates a story about a grizzled sergeant leaning against a fence post when a comrade came up. The sergeant jerked a thumb at a man in the distance and remarked: “That’s Grant. I hate to see that old cuss around. When that old cuss is around there’s sure to be a big fight on hand.”
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Rontimus Prime
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
    Reviewed in Canada on December 6, 2021
    A longer book than I realized until I opened it but interesting nonetheless. Many unknown details discovered such as the fact that Grant was supposed to be at the theatre with the Lincolns the night the president was assassinated.
    More maps would have been good for those readers not familiar with the areas where these events took place. All in all an interesting read
  • Charles R
    5.0 out of 5 stars Classic biography
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2022
    This classic work brings out Grant’s military genius and his command of strategy, tactics and logistics. A fascinating portrait.
  • Rich
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough look at Grant's Overland campaign
    Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2020
    Bruce Catton has a remarkable ability to research a topic. This book is very well written and detailed regarding Grant's appointment as Lt. General of the Union Army and his transition from the Western campaign to the East and his strategy to end the war.
  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2018
    well written
  • MJATILLETT
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2014
    Thorough and a useful insight into such an enigmatic character

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