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Ulysses S. Grant reflects on the crucial moments of his life as a husband, a father, a general, and a president while writing his memoirs and reckoning with his complicated legacy in this epic and intimate work of "superb historical fiction" (Booklist, starred review).
Barely able to walk and rendered mute by the cancer metastasizing in his throat, Ulysses S. Grant is scratching out words, hour after hour, day after day. Desperate to complete his memoirs before his death so his family might have some financial security and he some redemption, Grant journeys back in time.
He had once been the savior of the Union, the general to whom Lee surrendered at Appomattox, a twice-elected president who fought for the civil rights of Black Americans and against the rising Ku Klux Klan, a plain farmer-turned-business magnate who lost everything to a Wall Street swindler, a devoted husband to his wife Julia, and a loving father to four children. In this gorgeously rendered and moving novel, Grant rises from the page in all of his contradictions and foibles, his failures and triumphs.
Moving from blood-stained battlefields to Gilded Age New York, the novel explores how Grant's own views on race and Reconstruction changed over time. "A graceful, moving narrative" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) from historical fiction master Jon Clinch, this evocatively crafted novel breathes fresh life into an American icon.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
November 14, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781797167343
- File size: 226340 KB
- Duration: 07:51:32
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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The general of the audiobook title is Grant; Julia is his wife. Gibson Frazier delivers a solid performance of this historical novel. His voice is appealing and plainspoken. His pace is reasonable, with appropriate pauses and subtle character voices that are effective in dialogue. Indeed, there is little to find fault with when it comes to Frazier's narrative skill. The novel, however, moves between different time periods with leaps that are tough for the listener to navigate. One minute, the General and Julia are courting, and the next Grant is in his last days, struggling to complete his memoir as his health fails. While the chapters offer dates to denote time periods, the storyline is still a challenge to follow in the audiobook format. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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