Ulysses S. Grant: The Man Who Saved the Union

 

Ulysses S. Grant: The Man Who Saved the Union – H.W. Brands

I’m always a bit hesitant to read a biography of a subject matter when I’ve already read a previous one.  There are so many bios of subjects out there that I haven’t yet tackled, so it always feels a bit of an injustice, or perhaps a timewaster.  I especially felt this way when it came to Ulysses S. Grant.  I had already read the brilliant biography of him by Ron Chernow, and how does one top a Ron Chernow?  Well, you really can’t, but I guess that shouldn’t matter. It had been a few years since I read the Chernow offering, and H.W. Brands has a very high reputation within my literary palate, so I thought I’d take a chance.  Of course, it helped that I bought this thing at a “Library clearance” sale.

I imagine the toughest part about writing a bio of Grant is that he had two “careers” that are both, in and of themselves, worthy of retrospection.  He was the commander of the Union army during the U.S. Civil War, and then he later went on to be President of the United States.  So there’s a lot to write about obviously. What I found a bit shocking, or maybe it was actually necessary, is that author Brands really wrote about very little else concerning the man’s life.

It seems as though Grant’s upbringing is told here as briefly as possible and then -BAM- we arrive very  quickly at the Mexican-American War.  Grant was an officer in the war and seemed to be a bit more than a minor character in the conflict.  It seems as though soldiering suits Grant rather nicely. During the war, he became betrothed to future wife Julia, and we read a lot of snippets from Grant’s correspondence to her during the war.  This is the one area of the book that seems a tad too much.  Brands isn’t satisfied telling us, for example, that Grant wakes up with a headache one day.  Instead, he tells us: “Grant wrote to Julia that day telling her that he felt poorly due to a headache….”  Most of this communication does border on the inconsequential, but it does give us a lot of insight into Grant’s character and demeanor.

As someone who has seen a lot of pictures of Grant in various Civil War books, I must admit that I’m bit shocked by his personality as detailed by Brands (and others).  Whenever I would see pictures of Grant in his dirty Union uniform, scraggly beard, chomping on a cigar, and yelling “unconditional surrender only” I had a much harsher impression of his personality.  However, we read that he was actually a very calm, mild mannered, polite, and articulate man.  Yes, he was a stellar general but he always comes across as a guy who, if you invited him to dinner, he wouldn’t leave a mess for you to clean up.  I learned that you definitely cannot, and should not,  judge a book by its cover.

Anyway, soldiering seems the only thing that Grant can do well.  Between the Mexican-American War and the U.S. Civil War, Grant seems pretty inept at whatever business or trade he encounters.  He’s frequently a failure at the most simple, mundane jobs and often needs family assistance to keep the bills paid. So when Fort Sumter is fired upon igniting a tinderbox in 1861, Grant is back in the service and slowly starts to emerge as one of the best commanding officers that President Lincoln has; and Lincoln doesn’t have that many.  Another thing this book did that was a bit different is that author Brands gives us a somewhat historical account of the entire U.S. Civil War; regardless of whether Grant was a part of the particular event or not.  This is actually a good thing since it gives the reader a clearer picture of just what was going on all around Grant before he assumes command of the entire army (this happened in 1864).

Once the war is over, the mess of reconstruction begins, and it turns out the South is still filled with bitter obdurate racists. President Lincoln is assassinated and his Vice President, Andrew Johnson, is a horrible replacement.  Pretty soon the nation is clamoring for Grant to be the next Commander in Chief.  What is it exactly that endures so many to want former well-known generals to also serve as President?  Anyway, Grant is a bit ambivalent about holding the office and he never really seems to encourage his name being mentioned.  However, in such times, Grant feels that he (and others) need to respond to the call of duty from their countrymen regardless of personal preference.  It’s so odd to read about a time when front runners for the most important political post in the country never even campaigned for the office.  It was looked at back then as uncouth and disrespectable.  Can you really imagine?

Anyway, we read about Grant’s two terms, with the highlights of the comings and goings in the nation and the world, and get enough information to understand the times, and Grant’s beliefs about how he thinks a country should be run. Fortunately, though, we never get weighed down too much by many of the events that happen during this eight-year period.  In a sense, it almost seems as though more is necessary, but as I’ve mentioned, there’s already so much to pack into one book when talking about the life of Ulysses S. Grant, so what author Brands provides us is probably a good satisfactory balance.  I’m guessing there are plenty of other books out there devoted solely to many of the incidents that occurred during Grant’s presidency.

I really enjoyed this book, yet it’s been too long since I read the biography by Ron Chernow, so I can’t honestly compare the two.  I would say, though, that either one of these offerings would be suffice if you want to read about a great man, and a very significant, yet somewhat unfortunate time in U.S. history.

The General & The Jaguar: Pershing’s Hunt for Pancho Villa

 

The General & The Jaguar: Pershing’s Hunt for Pancho Villa – Eileen Welsome

In my humble opinion, one of the characteristics of a strong historical account in written form is when the author manages to tell the story and make it sound more as an engaging, thrilling novel as opposed to a documentary loaded with obscure facts.  Such is the case with this wonderful narrative.  This is a fascinating story about the latter-day events of the infamous Mexican revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa.  Do you know much about Pancho Villa?  I would suspect not.  It’s possible your grandparents did, but the events of Villa that captured most of the headlines occurred during the first World War, which has now been in excess of 100 years, and much of the escapades have faded from memory.

After reading this wonderful book by Eileen Welsome, you’ll learn an awful lot, and the story, while very harsh at times, does an incredible job keeping the reader interested and perhaps even leaving them with a desire to learn more about the events surrounding the history of the particular time. I know I certainly did.

Unlike its northern neighbor the United States, the country of Mexico has never had a stable government, and throughout its sordid history, we see how corruption and mismanagement can dismantle the best of intentions when trying to run a country.  We start the story around the time of Mexican President Porfirio Diaz, but I guess we could even go back further if we wanted.  Diaz, like most of his contemporaries South of the Border is crooked, and if we’re honest, it doesn’t help when wealthy U.S. businessmen and government officials exploit many of the endeavors of such governments.  There are a few very very rich, but the majority of the citizens are dirt poor and relegated to a life of squalor and grime.

Pancho Villa is one that seeks change, but he’s one among many and truth be told, it seems as all of these revolutionaries are all about equally as corrupt as the leaders that they want to overthrow.  Governments and leaders come and government leaders go, all in a somewhat brutal fashion.  When the antagonistic Carranza regime takes over, there’s initially animosity from Woodrow Wilson and the rest of America, but it soon becomes apparent that even though the Carranza regime has less than honorable intentions towards its citizens, the business interests of the United States will still prosper, so somewhat of an alliance is formed.  Pancho Villa is not happy.

Villa then seeks revenge on anything and everyone north of the Rio Grande.  He and his bandits hijack a passenger train somewhere close to the border and all Americans are ruthlessly slaughtered. Villa continues his onslaught, and he decides his next target will be within the continental U.S., specifically the sleepy city of Columbus, New Mexico.

This book provides lot of detail that takes place around Villa’s sacking of the town. As I mentioned, this book almost reads like a novel, so the unfortunate scene in this city is set up with a lot of care and detail. We can almost hear the ominous clouds in the distance as the citizens in this town go about their everyday life.   After the travesty occurs, the American public is understandably enraged, and President Wilson calls in General John “Black Jack” Pershing to hunt the rapacious bandito.  Of course, Wilson and Pershing need to be careful.  The U.S. can’t start a full-fledged war with Mexico, yet rather only capture the instigator of the Columbus raid. We must also remember that there is a great war already happening in Europe (these events take place in 1916) but the U.S. wasn’t really involved in the European conflict yet, so everything must be handled carefully with all of the geopolitical events going on.

As mentioned, author Eileen Welsome does a splendid job with telling us the stories of so many of the common people that are involved in this nightmare.  We actually feel the harsh desert dust in our face as we encounter so many of the perfectly described locales. The rugged hills of Mexico produce such a climate to where the daytime is treacherously hot, yet the evenings are so bitterly cold that soldiers are faced with both sunburn and frostbite as they plow their way through the barren landscapes of northern Mexico.

Now, if you don’t know the story of Pancho Villa, I should point out that the “strength” I alluded to earlier that this thing reads as a novel also means that you’re a little bit likely to feel let down near the end of this account.  Although we read about Villa on the run from Pershing and his men, the “exciting climax” never arrives. You can’t change history. Still, though, conclusions of all the major figures in this book are to be about as expected when you consider the atmosphere and circumstances of the time.  I can still see a good movie being made about this, however, as long as a director has the same devotion to detail as the author.

This book was a “surprise” for me.  I really had no interest in it other than I found it for $1 at a “used book” library sale.  Sometimes the best rewards are the unexpected ones.  History, although almost always tragic, can be fascinating at the same time.  This book shows us just that.

My Prison Without Bars

 

My Prison Without Bars – Pete Rose with Rick Hill

After reading this rather laborious book written by Pete Rose, I’m reminded by something I read stated by one of Johnny Bench’s five ex-wives when describing Johnny.  She said something like “Johnny Bench was a great baseball player, but he was lousy at everything else”.   Sadly, the same thing can be said about Johnny’s teammate, Pete Rose.  After reading this book, it’s also sadly clear that as great as a baseball player Pete Rose was, he sure as heck can’t write a book.

To be fair, Rose says so on the very first page. He tells us very early that he ain’t no literary genius. You have to then wonder, why did he even do this?  Why write a book if you can’t even….well….write a book?  Some would say for a quick cash grab. If so, it wouldn’t surprise me.  Even though this thing is not written well, that isn’t necessarily the main problem, the problem is that this book is too unfocused.  While reading this, you get the feeling that you’re sitting at a bar with Pete and he’s had a few too many, and he’s just rambling about everything in his life.  We hear the good, the bad, and plenty of ugly.  Listening to an inebriated stranger bore you for a few minutes is tolerable, but when you have to endure it for 300 pages or so, it just isn’t a very pleasurable experience.

He also tends to repeat himself a lot.  We read time and time again about how Pete tells us that he is basically a selfish jerk. He argues, though (and I would honestly concur), that his demeanor off the field shouldn’t affect his accomplishments on the field.  Most ballplayers, Rose tells us, are selfish jerks.  They need to be.  That’s what turns good ballplayers into great ballplayers.  And, yes, Rose probably could have gotten away with being a jerk had not the gambling problem surfaced when he was still managing the Cincinnati Reds in 1989.  Once Rose was pushed into the spotlight because of his questionable activities, he continued to be a jerk with the public and that contributed to his eventual banishment from the Hall of Fame and from the game of baseball itself.

Whether or not I agree with the judgement that came down on Pete Rose is really irrelevant to my opinions of the book. And as I’ve stated, it’s just not very good.  To be fair, most books by jocks and ex-jocks aren’t really that good either (notice they always have a co-author), but none of these guys were great at their sport because they excelled in English class.  This particular book is particularly loathsome as we’re constantly exposed to such vapid observations as:

“I can’t begin to tell y’all how painful it was to get kicked outta baseball…..”.

He seems to begin 90% of his recollections with the word “Hell”.

“Hell what do I care if a player wants to fool around on the road…..”
“Hell most ballplayers would go to the racetrack after games…”
“Hell every other celebrity was eventually forgiven….”
“Hell none of my teammates really liked me…”
“Hell, why would I wanta play ball on the prison baseball team?....”

And on and on and on. It’s way too much. It really does want to make you shout “bartender! No more drinks for this guy. He’s had enough.”

 

Pete Rose had such a stellar career that had he mainly focused on his playing (and managing) career in this book, this thing would have been somewhat redeemable.  He spends very little time, though, devoted to this, the main part, of his career.  In fact, it’s almost as if he purposely tries to quickly get through it early in the book so he can talk about his life once his problems began.  The few anecdotes he does manage to tell are the highlights of the book by far, such as the on-the-field scuffle during the 1973 World Series with New York Mets’ shortstop Bud Harrelson.  Sadly, though, those episodes are only lightly peppered throughout the book.  We read more about Rose’s 5-month stay in prison than we do his 25-year brilliant baseball career.

What should have happened here, is Rose should have contracted a respectable author and delegated the writing of Rose’s story to said particular individual.  With proper care, and a more linear story, this thing could have been much more bearable.  As mentioned, though, this thing seemed to be nothing more than a quick cash grab.  The irony is that I couldn’t help wonder if the powers that be that could have put Rose in the Hall of Fame maybe looked at this book, read a few chapters, and then shook their heads in disgust as they felt the guy was once again grasping at straws.  In other words, I can’t help wonder if this book actually hindered Rose’s chances at being reinstated as opposed to helping him.

Ironically, as I began reading this book, two coincidental events happened. First, HBO released a brilliant four-part documentary on Pete Rose and his ongoing struggles.  Second, Rose himself passed away.  For many, it was sad to see Rose die without being forgiven by the game that he contributed so much, and I’m sure the debate will persevere for a long time to come.   I also would highly recommend the HBO documentary as it was quite good, much more so than this book, sadly.