11 ms·

The story of Grant’s aasociation with Twain and the latter’s influence on getting Grant’s war time memoires written is discussed in great and entertaining detai

The story of Grant’s aasociation with Twain and the latter’s influence on getting Grant’s war time memoires written is discussed in great and entertaining detail in Ron Chernows’s biography of Grant, which is one of the most entertaining biographies I have ever read: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06W2J89PV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1681681247&sr=8-2 https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06W2J89PV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch...

eschulz 3y ago
I too found that biography to be very entertaining and informative. It was interesting how Grant spent the last several months of his life writing for most hours of almost every day. He dove into it, and apparently gave Twain's publishing firm a pretty good product that they could easily work with. Grant was a very skilled man throughout his life in regard to arithmetic, equestrianism, and military arts among other things. However, he truly found a new skill and passion in writing while literally on his deathbed.
- zabzonk 3y ago
  i think that the concensus is that grant did it to ensure support for his wife after his death, which to me shows that he was very good man (and his actions in the civil war, and after, back this up). i've read about half of his book, which can be quite funny in places. but relies (naturally) on some detailed appreciation of the geography of the battlefields, and geography has ever been my least favourite area of knowledge, so i had to give it up.
  - eschulz 3y ago
    That's interesting, he must have had a great mind for visualizing geography, as evidenced in part by his detailed description of it in his accounts years later. That mixed with his logistical expertise (he was a quartermaster in the Mexican War) would make him a very formidable general.
  - 0xBDB 3y ago
    "which to me shows that he was very good man (and his actions in the civil war, and after, back this up)." With at least one striking exception. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._11_(1862) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._11_(1862)
russellbeattie 3y ago
Twain writes about it himself in his (insanely long) autobiography. Grant was nearly broke when Twain - who was a great admirer of his - pushed him to write it and set him up with a publisher. After the publisher tried to screw Grant with a horrible contract, Twain published it himself.
- NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
  Wikipedia has an interesting paragraph on the circumstances whereby his autobiography will not enter into the Public Domain as scheduled, but later, due to some "gaming the system".
  - bryanrasmussen 3y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Memoirs_of_U._S._Grant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Memoirs_of_U._S._Gran... searching for gaming, public domain, and copyright all come up empty - do you have more details.
    - lIl-IIIl 3y ago
      I think that comment was about Twain's autobiography, not Grant's: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_Mark_Twain#Copyright_status https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_Mark_Twain#.... I remember when it first came out, which was surprisingly recently, in 2010. They published it in secret in 2001 so that it is not considered "unpublished" and doesn't enter public domain in 2003. Although I don't understand how "publishing in secret" is still considering publishing.
      - bryanrasmussen 3y ago
        hmm, well Twain was quite committed to the idea of perpetual copyright, so seems fitting somehow.
- enkid 3y ago
  One of Grant's failings was trusting too easily. He was broke because he was taken in by a con artist, then developed throat cancer before he could get his feet back under him, and spent his dying months writing out the manuscript by hand because he couldn't do tate to a secretary any more.
WoahNoun 3y ago
My favorite anecdote from that book is Grant wanted to teach mathematics at West Point under Albert Church before he went off to the Mexican-American War.

eschulz 3y ago

I too found that biography to be very entertaining and informative. It was interesting how Grant spent the last several months of his life writing for most hours of almost every day. He dove into it, and apparently gave Twain's publishing firm a pretty good product that they could easily work with. Grant was a very skilled man throughout his life in regard to arithmetic, equestrianism, and military arts among other things. However, he truly found a new skill and passion in writing while literally on his deathbed.

zabzonk 3y ago
i think that the concensus is that grant did it to ensure support for his wife after his death, which to me shows that he was very good man (and his actions in the civil war, and after, back this up). i've read about half of his book, which can be quite funny in places. but relies (naturally) on some detailed appreciation of the geography of the battlefields, and geography has ever been my least favourite area of knowledge, so i had to give it up.
- eschulz 3y ago
  That's interesting, he must have had a great mind for visualizing geography, as evidenced in part by his detailed description of it in his accounts years later. That mixed with his logistical expertise (he was a quartermaster in the Mexican War) would make him a very formidable general.
- 0xBDB 3y ago
  "which to me shows that he was very good man (and his actions in the civil war, and after, back this up)." With at least one striking exception. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._11_(1862) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Order_No._11_(1862)

russellbeattie 3y ago

Twain writes about it himself in his (insanely long) autobiography. Grant was nearly broke when Twain - who was a great admirer of his - pushed him to write it and set him up with a publisher. After the publisher tried to screw Grant with a horrible contract, Twain published it himself.

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
Wikipedia has an interesting paragraph on the circumstances whereby his autobiography will not enter into the Public Domain as scheduled, but later, due to some "gaming the system".
- bryanrasmussen 3y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Memoirs_of_U._S._Grant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Memoirs_of_U._S._Gran... searching for gaming, public domain, and copyright all come up empty - do you have more details.
  - lIl-IIIl 3y ago
    I think that comment was about Twain's autobiography, not Grant's: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_Mark_Twain#Copyright_status https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_Mark_Twain#.... I remember when it first came out, which was surprisingly recently, in 2010. They published it in secret in 2001 so that it is not considered "unpublished" and doesn't enter public domain in 2003. Although I don't understand how "publishing in secret" is still considering publishing.
    - bryanrasmussen 3y ago
      hmm, well Twain was quite committed to the idea of perpetual copyright, so seems fitting somehow.
enkid 3y ago
One of Grant's failings was trusting too easily. He was broke because he was taken in by a con artist, then developed throat cancer before he could get his feet back under him, and spent his dying months writing out the manuscript by hand because he couldn't do tate to a secretary any more.

WoahNoun 3y ago

My favorite anecdote from that book is Grant wanted to teach mathematics at West Point under Albert Church before he went off to the Mexican-American War.