
The Man Who Saved the Union
Ulysses Grant in War and Peace
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Hoye
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By:
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H. W. Brands
About this listen
From New York Times best-selling author H. W. Brands, a masterful biography of the Civil War general and two-term president who saved the Union twice, on the battlefield and in the White House, holding the country together at two critical turning points in our history.
Ulysses Grant rose from obscurity to discover he had a genius for battle, and he propelled the Union to victory in the Civil War. After Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the disastrous brief presidency of Andrew Johnson, America turned to Grant again to unite the country, this time as president. In Brands' sweeping, majestic full biography, Grant emerges as a heroic figure who was fearlessly on the side of right. He was a beloved commander in the field but willing to make the troop sacrifices necessary to win the war, even in the face of storms of criticism. He worked valiantly to protect the rights of freedmen in the South; Brands calls him the last presidential defender of Black civil rights for nearly a century. He played it straight with the American Indians, allowing them to shape their own fate even as the realities of Manifest Destiny meant the end of their way of life. He was an enormously popular president whose memoirs were a huge best seller; yet within decades of his death his reputation was in tatters, the victim of Southerners who resented his policies on Reconstruction. In this page-turning biography, Brands now reconsiders Grant's legacy and provides a compelling and intimate portrait of a man who saved the Union on the battlefield and consolidated that victory as a resolute and principled political leader.
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Story
A sweeping, magisterial biography of the man generally considered the greatest president of the 20th century, admired by Democrats and Republicans alike. Traitor to His Class sheds new light on FDR's formative years; his remarkable willingness to champion the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised; and his combination of political genius, firm leadership, and matchless diplomacy in saving democracy during the Great Depression and the American cause of freedom in World War II.
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Talented writer and narrator, but too biased/long
- By todd on 01-24-20
By: H. W. Brands
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The Age of Gold
- The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
- By: H.W. Brands
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill on the American River, it completely transformed the territory of California. Hundreds of thousands of people sped to California by any means possible, and small cities sprung up to service their needs as they sought the precious metal. By 1850, California had become a state; it had also become a symbol of where the nation was going.
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Very Enjoyable
- By Claire on 01-15-04
By: H.W. Brands
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The Zealot and the Emancipator
- John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Master storyteller and best-selling historian H. W. Brands narrates the epic struggle over slavery as embodied by John Brown and Abraham Lincoln - two men moved to radically different acts to confront our nation’s gravest sin. The Zealot and the Emancipator is acclaimed historian H. W. Brands' thrilling account of how two American giants shaped the war for freedom.
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I Never Knew That!
- By William G. Stuart on 10-19-20
By: H. W. Brands
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Founding Partisans
- Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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To the framers of the Constitution, political parties were a fatal threat to republican virtues. They had suffered the consequences of partisan politics in Britain before the American Revolution, and they wanted nothing similar for America. Yet parties emerged even before the Constitution was ratified, and they took firmer root in the following decade. In Founding Partisans, master historian H. W. Brands has crafted a fresh and lively narrative of the early years of the republic as the Founding Fathers fought one another with competing visions of what our nation would be.
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Very educational
- By Mark Mears on 02-21-24
By: H. W. Brands
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The Last Campaign
- Sherman, Geronimo and the War for America
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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William Tecumseh Sherman and Geronimo were keen strategists and bold soldiers, ruthless with their enemies. Over the course of the 1870s and 1880s these two war chiefs would confront each other in the final battle for what the American West would be: a sparsely settled, wild home where Indian tribes could thrive, or a densely populated extension of the America to the east of the Mississippi.
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Outstanding Unbiased Native American History
- By Paul W. Brazis on 11-07-22
By: H. W. Brands
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America First
- Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands narrates the fierce debate over America's role in the world in the runup to World War II through its two most important figures: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who advocated intervention, and his isolationist nemesis, aviator and popular hero Charles Lindbergh.
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Another American History Pearl from H.W. Brands
- By Paul W. Brazis on 10-05-24
By: H. W. Brands
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Our First Civil War
- Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Steve Hendrickson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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What causes people to forsake their country and take arms against it? What prompts their neighbors, hardly distinguishable in station or success, to defend that country against the rebels? That is the question H. W. Brands answers in his powerful new history of the American Revolution.
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Not a fresh take on the Revolution
- By James on 01-05-22
By: H. W. Brands
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The Money Men
- Capitalism, Democracy, and the Hundred Years' War over the American Dollar
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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A best-selling historian's gripping account of the powerful men who controlled America's financial destiny. From the first days of the United States, a battle raged over money. On one side were the democrats, who wanted cheap money and feared the concentration of financial interests in the hands of a few. On the other were the capitalists who sought the soundness of a national bank and the profits that came with it.
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Not clear what this book is really about
- By Chris on 07-03-08
By: H. W. Brands
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Reagan
- The Life
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
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Very little about Reagan
- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
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Grant
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 48 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow reveals in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.
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Excellent Book (BUT WHERE IS THE PDF FILES)????
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-17
By: Ron Chernow
What listeners say about The Man Who Saved the Union
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- Colonel Jay Smith III
- 11-05-12
OUTSTANDING HISTORICAL STORY
Would you listen to The Man Who Saved the Union again? Why?
NO.
TOO MANY AUDIBLE BOOKS YET TO HEAR.
What other book might you compare The Man Who Saved the Union to and why?
ALL OF H. W. BRANDS WORKS; HE LIVES AND TEACHES HERE IN AUSTIN.
What does Stephen Hoye bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
MAKES IT MORE INTERESTING.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
NO.
I DO A LOT OF WORK ON MY LAWNS AND GARDENS; WHILE I WORK, I LISTEN.
Any additional comments?
WAITING FOR THE NOVEMBER CROP OF NEW MYSTERY THRILLERS.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Lloyd Berkey
- 10-23-19
Good biography overall.
Not as good as Chernow, but an easier read. goes into war issues outside of Grant.
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1 person found this helpful
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- David
- 03-06-16
The Man Who Saved the Union
It was tough going and I had to stop listening to it but after the war started it became very interesting. I enjoyed learning about the General and I do think his scandals where overblown and his accomplishments as President were undervalued. This biography helped me understand all of this, in detail. The performance was just fine. Not sure how it could have been improved but it did seem to "drone" on and on. It was the book that kept me listening and perhaps the performer was trying to accomplish this by his performance overshadowing the story.
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- Charles
- 09-15-15
First-rate
Civil War buffs can fill in some necessarily tangential areas; those not as familiar will learn a great deal.
Economical yet superb treatment of his presidency.
Not written on a 5th grade level as one complained but rather sharply and mercifully written in plain English, free of jargon and bloated prose.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 09-03-19
One of the best presidents
It is amazing how much he did for our nation during the war and after. He stopped the KKK but other presidents allowed to proposer again causing major harm to civil rights. A story of a real patriot American
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- Roger
- 07-24-13
Compelling narrative
The first half of this book, through Appomattox, is a detailed, meticulously researched account of Grant’s life and contributions. It convincingly sets forth what distinguished Grant from other Union generals. Brands also sets Grant’s activities within the general context of contemporary events and trends, but that analysis does not go very deep.
The second half of the book is much more rewarding. Of necessity, it deals with the issues and trends of the day and Grant’s influences on and reactions to them, and it focuses less on personal details. It sets forth the accomplishments of his administration, which are too often overshadowed by the scandals at the end of his term. Brands argues that Grant showed the same courage trying to protect the freedmen and, to a lesser extent, Native Americans, that he showed in battle.
The book also raises fascinating questions that deserve greater analysis, including: Did the Radical Republicans in Congress really hijack Reconstruction and direct it in ways Lincoln would never have countenanced, or did they try to save it from Johnson’s attempts to ingratiate himself with Southern Democrats? At the end of the Civil War, Grant was afraid the rebel armies would disintegrate into guerilla bands. While the armies did not “take to the hills,” should the KKK be treated as the reconstituted guerilla force that Grant feared? Sheridan considered the KKK to be terrorists. Had they been treated as such at the time, would civil rights have been established before more than another century had passed?
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6 people found this helpful
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- Msuega Tese
- 01-06-13
Excellent history of a general
Would you consider the audio edition of The Man Who Saved the Union to be better than the print version?
Before I picked this book, I knew nothing of Grant. Though very long book, the reading is excellent.
What did you like best about this story?
Personal details about Grant. Great general but poor biz man. Clearly there are no super-humans who are good at everything.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, I wish I could listen to it all in one sitting...
Any additional comments?
Great, but somehow, I believe it can be abridged.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Will
- 08-16-17
Tells Grant's story from historic documents.
Great book. Using primary resources helps explain Grant in a true way. Demonstrates the leadership Grant possessed through difficult times. His flaws are also explained in this balanced writing.
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- Robert
- 02-18-13
Excellent Book. Worth the money and time invested
Where does The Man Who Saved the Union rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Near the top of the books I have listened to so far.
What did you like best about this story?
The best thing about the book is that the author relays a full picture of Grant as a person and what made him tick.
What about Stephen Hoye’s performance did you like?
The pace of the book was just right. It kept me engaged without moving too fast.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Grant, the man behind the myth.
Any additional comments?
Highly recommended to anyone.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Marcy
- 07-02-19
A Worthy Review of a Life
I especially recommend this book for people like me, who want to understand our nation now and in the past. The prose is as clear and direct as Grant's own writing. His mistakes and imperfections are neither hidden nor exaggerated.
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