His expertise as a writer does not surprise me, for I have read hundreds of his letters and know too well his style and flawless effort at turning a phrase. Millions will read Grant's Memoirs and remember them. William Sherman: Other books of the war will be forgotten, mislaid, dismissed. His book will live with the history of this country and is as enduring as the English language. There was no art, no subtlety, no duplicity in the man, and there is none of this in his writing. The man in General Grant is in all of his writings and no other man could have stood in his place. Boutwell: Grant's book is one of the great books ever written and will stand the test of time. Grant's book is clear evidence of the strength of his affections, the clearness and force of his intellect, and the invincible determination of purpose triumphing over death. The final chapters were written on pads held in his lap, his nerves quivering with the agonizing pains that gave no promise of relief. They supercede any other such work, and surprised critics with their high literary merit and their mastery of graphic details. William Conant Church: Grant's Memoirs remain as a testimony to his skill as a writer. Somehow, despite its sobriety, it communicates the spirit of the battles themselves and makes it possible to understand how Grant won them. The tempo is never increased, but the narrative, once we get into the war, seems to move with the increasing momentum that the soldier must have felt in the field. Perhaps never has a book so objective in form seemed so personal in every line. The book conveys Grant's dynamic force and the definitiveness of his personality. It is one of those "can't put down" books.Įdmund Wilson: Grant's Memoirs are a unique expression of the national character. the wit in the book was frequent and had a large touch of genius in it. He had the faculty of narrative to an unusual degree, for all his life he was an entertaining talker, at times monopolizing conversations with friends. Coolidge: Writing was not his trade, but it was astonishing how he could make a story of human interest as easily as he had written military orders. Their style is at least flawless, and no man can improve upon it. There is no higher literature than these modest, simple Memoirs. General Grant was just a man, just a human being, just an author.The fact remains and cannot be dislodged that General Grant's book is a great, unique and unapproachable literary masterpiece. I was able to say in all sincerity that the same high merits distinguished both books - clarity of statement, directness, simplicity, manifest truthfulness, fairness and justice toward friend and foe alike and avoidance of flowery speech. Mark Twain: I had been comparing the memoirs with Caesar's Commentaries. Here are the opinions of some distinguished critics regarding the General's Memoirs: The handwritten manuscript of the Memoirs is in the Library of Congress, which should prove once and for all who really wrote the book. It cannot be copied by another, even a writer as gifted as Mark Twain. His military orders, presidential papers and personal correspondence possess the identical style as his book. His style is instantly familiar and utterly unique.
Dismiss the stories that Mark Twain or Grant's literary secretary secretly wrote the book while the General sat back inert. Written while dying of throat cancer, the torturous creation of this work is a great human story, as inspiring as anything Grant ever did on the battlefield.īelow are some observations about Grant's Memoirs, and the common thread is an admiration for Grant's literary style: precise, economical and interspersed with a dry wit. Even his most vocal critics find it hard to denigrate this simple, yet elegant document. Grant's book has been spared the attacks that have been directed at him in other areas of his life. As the primary first-person narrative of the Civil War, it has been scrutinized, celebrated and praised, but never damned. There is no doubt that it is the greatest book ever written by a former U. Grant's Personal Memoirs (1885) are considered a classic of American literature.
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