DJ MAG "Stayin' In" re-post, #3: "GRANT" by Ron Chernow

"Ron Chernow’s mammoth biography of perhaps America’s greatest general (and most unfairly tarred presidents) is a supremely impressive achievement. Following the man who would become Lincoln’s sword in the Civil War through periods of economic failure, recurrent alcoholism and  military triumph, the book does a great deal to rehabilitate Grant’s postwar reputation. In particular, his sincere attempts to crush the Ku Klux Klan and enforce Reconstruction—which tragically were ultimately thwarted—shines a bright light on the upstanding character of the man. One can only speculate about what progress in race relations could have been achieved, had other less courageous politicians of the day possessed the gumption and will to follow Grant’s most proper and excellent example."