Ulysses S. Grant: National Man of Mystery
Many people know Ulysses S. Grant as the President and the Civil War hero but very few know the long and perilous trip he took to get their. Richard Goldhurst, the author of Many Are the Hearts: The Agony and the Triumph of Ulysses S. Grant, means to help put light to the mysteries behind Grant. Many Are the Hearts gives an insight on the whole life of Grant and the people involved in this journey.
Richard Goldhurst was born on January 4, 1927, in Larchmont, New York. He served in the military for three years, 1944 – 1946. Goldhurst later attended three colleges. He earned his Bachelors degree Kenyon College in 1950. One year later in 1951 he received his Masters degree at Princeton University. Then he went to New York University at New York, N.Y., from 1952 until 1955 working on his Doctorate. While earning his Doctorate, he instructed classes at the University. After college, Goldhurst worked as a story analyst for Columbia Broadcasting System. From the end of 1955 to 1957 he worked for motion picture and television engineers as a journal editor. Now he has held a job at “County Magazine” an assistant editor since 1970. Goldhurst has written several books spanning many diverse topics. Some of these include; The Dark Side of the House, America is also Jewish, and Pipe Clay and Drill: John J. Pershing and the American Military Mind.
Many are the Hearts follows the life of one of the United States greatest heroes, Ulysses S. Grant. The book is separated into five chapters with each one telling a little bit of the whole story. The first chapter begins after Grant’s term in the Presidency. He started an investment firm with Ferdinand Ward, a friend of Buck (Grant’s second son), called Grant and Ward. The company was mainly run by Buck, but Ulysses was really only involved for his reputation. As it turned out Ward was taking investor’s money, investing only a small amount, and kept the rest for himself. This event later leads to the failure and the bankruptcy of the business and Grant. The second chapter tells the story from the beginning of his life. He will make his way though West Point and eventually worked his way up the military ladder. Goldhurst reveals the way that Grant fought and led battles in the Civil War. In the third chapter Grant is in dire need for money. He not only needs money for his family but he wants to help repay every bit of the lost investment money that he can. He finds an avenue to earn money by writing books about his time in the Civil War. Chapter four depicts Grant as he was being overcome by the cancer while tying to complete the book over several battles that he fought in during the Civil War. The fifth chapter dealt with Ulysses S. Grant’s final days. His family take care of him as best they can while keeping the press at bay.
Goldhurst’s goal of this book was to inform the reader of the life of Ulysses S. Grant. He achieved this by separating Grant’s life into multiple sections. Each of these sections dealt with a different aspect of Grant’s life. The split sections allow the reader to read one chapter at a time and without feeling overwhelmed by a massive book. This proves to be a useful tactic to help the reader better if not fully understand the point the Goldhurst was attempting to make.
Sources were an important part of the book. Goldhurst used many primary sources when he wrote Many Are the Hearts. He included many letters between Grant and his family and many of the people with whom he was involved. One such contact was between the Queen Victoria’s lady-in-waiting and Grant’s oldest son, concerning Ulysses S. Grant. He also continuously quotes Grant throughout the book. The quotes give the book character and help the reader to feel as if Grant might be speaking to them. The book covers the entire life of Grant, from his birth on April 27, 1822, in Ohio, until his unpleasant death from tongue cancer.
The intricate details of Grant’s life never seemed to take away from the reading experience. The book, although historical and full of facts, was rather interesting and easy to follow. For example, when Goldhurst wrote about the Battle of Chattanooga, he used many sensory words to allow the reader to better perceive the battlefield as Grant prepared to attack the city of Chattanooga. The sources Goldhurst also help the reader too grasp the concept of the story. “Vicksburg was a tough nut to crack. The city was a fortress situated on high bluffs, its cannons commanding seventeen miles of the river below.” This passage shows some of the detail that Goldhurst used to give the reader a grand perspective on the Battle of Vicksburg. One quote he used from Mark Twain “I could do better, if I could get the rest I craved,” assisted in showing the weariness of Twain in working with Grant on the books about the Civil War. This book was written for people who are intrigued by the life of Ulysses S. Grant. The part he played in the Civil War has also drawn others to read and learn as much as possible about Grant.
With this in mind, Goldhurst presented a well-balanced book that shows the high points of Grants life during the Civil War, along with the low depressing times he had just after the investment firm he worked for went bankrupt. Goldhurst
Goldhurst very much so brought to light the dark alluring secrets of Ulysses S. Grant’s life. He event went as far as to attempt to give an insight on the feelings of Grant and the people closely involved with him. Goldhurst did a good job of portraying Grant in such a fashion as to make the reader feel as if they had known Grant their whole life and could say that the reader was a good friend of Grant. Of course it is impossible to know every detail about Grant’s life, but Goldhurst took what he felt were the most vital parts of Grant’s life and gave them the utmost attention they deserve.
Many are the Hearts had an abundance of special features within the book. The middle of the book is set with over forty pictures depicting people, places, and events related to Grant. The chapter titles do not really give a good example of what is to come but they are there and help to show some form of order. Maps are well placed beside the text that spoke about that current event. The order of the book is not in perfect chronological order, with the first chapter beginning after the Presidency during Grant’s unsuccessful business excursion. The second chapter begins from Grant’s birth.
A reviewer of Choice magazine said that Goldhurst’s coverage on the subject “considerably heightens the drama.” The reviewer felt the book was “Aimed at general readers and generously illustrated,”. The reviewer states that one-fourth of the book comprised of Grant’s early career, “while the remainder builds steadily to his final victory.” The reviewer also commented about the source material: “Occasional errors and the absence of source citations diminish research value, but amplitude of detail, much from primary sources, make the book a reasonable addition to research libraries, while readability should commend it to other libraries also.”
As with most books I have ever read it is difficult to begin, but after the first twenty or so pages it actually began to be rather interesting. This book has a tremendous amount of facts and other historical information. Most people may find this to be a gigantic downfall for any book, but being that it was a historical book the facts and information enhance the feeling and seem to give the book some depth. As far a book I might pick up a library it would be highly unlikely due to the fact that I do not have much time to read, and also it is not the type of book I would like to read. Part of what made the book appealing to me was the Civil War; I usually have read books that have a person involved in some type of conflict similar to a war. The best example, although it is not a book, would be Braveheart, the movie with Mel Gibson. Overall, Many Are the Hearts is a good book, but I would only recommend it to people how like history or who have to do a book review for their history class.
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