3 ms·

grant's autobiography is well worth reading - quite funny at times. but when it gets into the battles it kind of loses me, having only a vague grasp of geograph

grant's autobiography is well worth reading - quite funny at times. but when it gets into the battles it kind of loses me, having only a vague grasp of geography and topology. possibly why i am not a great general?

ghaff 3y ago
A lot of history books, including but not limited to those dealing with battles, are handy to read with maps (often topographical ones) of the area open if they're not in the book. Back when I listened to audiobooks while commuting, I learned that a lot of history books were a poor match for the format.
- optimalsolver 3y ago
  And yet many history podcasts such as Mike Duncan's "History of Rome" seem to do fine in the format.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    It probably depends on how much military minutiae you get into. I've only listened to a few of Duncan's podcasts but I've also enjoyed a lot of (but not all of) Dan Carlin's podcasts. The thing is they mostly aren't about tactical elements of battles or history more generally. (They probably assume some general knowledge of the overall geography which I have.) I've also read books, not just military but ones like Endurance, that it's really useful to be able to look at a map.
rawgabbit 3y ago
I read Grants biography three times. For all of his faults, Grant was a genius in reading his opponents mind and knowing what his troops were capable of. Terrain and geography played a role but it is secondary to his men’s welfare. When Rosecrans were trapped by the Confederates after the battle of Chickamauga, Grant was assigned to take command and free the trapped Union army. Grant arrived and quickly saw that the Union troops were starving and that Confederates blocked the most direct supply routes and many mules and horses were driven to death in an attempt to feed the troops. Grant quickly launched a surprise attack to establish the “cracker line” a direct route to supply the troops with hard tack, a staple food of Union troops. Once his troops were fed and recovered their strength, he went on the offensive. At the battle of Missionary Ridge, Grant’s troops charged up a mountain against Confederate canon and drove Braxton Bragg off the field. For several months Bragg thought he was close to destroying an entire Union army and suddenly Grant showed up and turned the tables on him.
waltwalther 3y ago
One of my favorite books! If I remember correctly, Grant had no aspirations of being a soldier, and was not one of the best students at the Military Academy, and even after he graduated and became a soldier was still...green for a long time. One thing I found intriguing was how gentlemanly he was able to conduct himself in war, when dealing with his own men (who sometimes barely had any training at all) and when dealing with the enemy. The manner in which he writes his memoirs, his manner of speaking, is much different than how I speak, but is pleasant to read. There are sections that I reread many times. If I recall correctly he had no confidence at all in his own writing ability, and only began writing to pay the bills (writing short stories about the war for the newspaper).
johnloeber 3y ago
Not to distract from your point, but you mean topography, not topology.
- zabzonk 3y ago
  indeed!
Turing_Machine 3y ago
> quite funny at times. Yes. The part where he was put in charge of the "trained" (i.e., completely untrained) mules and the "teamsters", (many of whom had lied about their credentials because teamsters got to ride on the wagons rather than humping a heavy pack on foot) made me laugh out loud. I believe it's on Project Gutenberg for free.

ghaff 3y ago

A lot of history books, including but not limited to those dealing with battles, are handy to read with maps (often topographical ones) of the area open if they're not in the book. Back when I listened to audiobooks while commuting, I learned that a lot of history books were a poor match for the format.

optimalsolver 3y ago
And yet many history podcasts such as Mike Duncan's "History of Rome" seem to do fine in the format.
- ghaff 3y ago
  It probably depends on how much military minutiae you get into. I've only listened to a few of Duncan's podcasts but I've also enjoyed a lot of (but not all of) Dan Carlin's podcasts. The thing is they mostly aren't about tactical elements of battles or history more generally. (They probably assume some general knowledge of the overall geography which I have.) I've also read books, not just military but ones like Endurance, that it's really useful to be able to look at a map.

rawgabbit 3y ago

I read Grants biography three times. For all of his faults, Grant was a genius in reading his opponents mind and knowing what his troops were capable of. Terrain and geography played a role but it is secondary to his men’s welfare. When Rosecrans were trapped by the Confederates after the battle of Chickamauga, Grant was assigned to take command and free the trapped Union army. Grant arrived and quickly saw that the Union troops were starving and that Confederates blocked the most direct supply routes and many mules and horses were driven to death in an attempt to feed the troops. Grant quickly launched a surprise attack to establish the “cracker line” a direct route to supply the troops with hard tack, a staple food of Union troops. Once his troops were fed and recovered their strength, he went on the offensive. At the battle of Missionary Ridge, Grant’s troops charged up a mountain against Confederate canon and drove Braxton Bragg off the field. For several months Bragg thought he was close to destroying an entire Union army and suddenly Grant showed up and turned the tables on him.

waltwalther 3y ago

One of my favorite books! If I remember correctly, Grant had no aspirations of being a soldier, and was not one of the best students at the Military Academy, and even after he graduated and became a soldier was still...green for a long time. One thing I found intriguing was how gentlemanly he was able to conduct himself in war, when dealing with his own men (who sometimes barely had any training at all) and when dealing with the enemy. The manner in which he writes his memoirs, his manner of speaking, is much different than how I speak, but is pleasant to read. There are sections that I reread many times. If I recall correctly he had no confidence at all in his own writing ability, and only began writing to pay the bills (writing short stories about the war for the newspaper).

johnloeber 3y ago

Not to distract from your point, but you mean topography, not topology.

zabzonk 3y ago
indeed!

Turing_Machine 3y ago

> quite funny at times. Yes. The part where he was put in charge of the "trained" (i.e., completely untrained) mules and the "teamsters", (many of whom had lied about their credentials because teamsters got to ride on the wagons rather than humping a heavy pack on foot) made me laugh out loud. I believe it's on Project Gutenberg for free.