If I'm counting correctly, this is the fifth book by this author that I have read. All regarded the American Civil War. The first three were the trilogy about the Union Army of the Potomac, while this was the third of a trilogy on the military life of Ulysses Grant, with the first volume begun by a different historian and the task of completion taken over by this author, upon the first author's death. Having said that, this author has come a very long way since his first attempt at civil war reporting. By this time, each volume is clearly reported and solidly documented. Given that the author was basically "just" a civil war buff when he started pumping these things out, he produces a worthy product. Readers with little or no background on Grant and the war, will find a reasonably captivating volume. As someone who has read probably a few dozen books on the overall subject (with maybe a half dozen more to go on my bookshelf), I found myself occasionally wondering why this author didn't include both interesting and very related "side activity" that did not directly involve the main subject, General Grant, such as why the Confederate forces were caught so unprepared for the Union push toward the end of the Petersburg siege. Okay, it wasn't directly about Grant, so he left it out. But that applies to other issues to one degree or another. I'm just wondering why he left a few specific things out after including others. I guess I'm acknowledging that this volume really didn't tell me a lot I didn't already know about what is covered in the book, but that shouldn't deter a reader relatively new to the genre. I should also acknowledge that I have two other much more recently published volumes sitting on my bookshelf about the very same person. And, yes, with roughly 2,000 pages to wade through, I plan on taking them on later. Not because this book was so superficial. Far from it. It's because new research finds new details that are worth it to me to learn. And because I'm an American Civil War buff who has read about it off and on since the late 1950s. It's an addiction that I control with long walks and warm baths. Please don't judge me. ( )

An excellent history, particularly for one who has spent much time studying the battles individually but hadn't pieced them together again. A wonderful narrative sweep that captures the connections between the separate theaters and actions, tying them together into a single cohesive whole - much as Grant himself did for the Union Army. Along the way, Catton draws an elemental picture of Grant - Catton shows who Grant was by recounting the facts of his actions and reprinting his orders and letters; he wastes no time telling the reader what kind of a man Grant was.

The books gathering momentum mirrors the momentum Grand sought to create for his Army; as the chapters proceed it became harder and harder to stop reading. ( )