Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not a Butcher

The Military Genius of the Man Who Won the Civil War

By: Edward H. Bonekemper III

Narrated by: E. Roy Worley

Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Ulysses S. Grant is often accused of being a cold-hearted butcher of his troops. In Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not a Butcher, historian Edward H. Bonekemper III proves that Grant's casualty rates actually compared favorably with those of other Civil War generals. His perseverance, decisiveness, moral courage, and political acumen place him among the greatest generals of the Civil War - indeed, of all military history. Bonekemper proves that it was no historical accident that Grant accepted the surrender of three entire Confederate armies and won the Civil War. Bonekemper ably silences Grant's critics and restores Grant to the heroic reputation he so richly deserves.

©2005 Edward H. Bonekemper III (P)2012 Regnery Publishing

Enjoyable!

The reader read very quickly and when I slowed the speed it was hard to understand.
The information was intense going from battle to battle but always stating the case that the author believed. That being, The premise that Grant was less bloody than Robert E. Lee. I thought this was well stated and the author's arguments were well founded and proved.

Excellent book - ridiculous narration

This is a good overall repudiation of the butcher myth for the layman. Fed and nourished by the Southern apologists for the inept General Lee, the butcher blanket was thrown over Grant by Northern Copperheads in an attempt to defeat Lincoln at the polls in 1864. Great book. 5 stars except for the - POOR narration.
Antietam is pronounced Auntie- eat'em. Seriously. Almost made me wreck the car the first time he mispronounced it, it was so ear shattering. I had to stop and think of what he was saying and it was in the correct context. There are other examples but this is the most jarring. O, and Mono-casey for Monocacy. Okay, I'm from Maryland, but jeesh. And Bullavar for Bolivar? Who edits this stuff?

Good History; Poor Narrator

Others have noted the narrator's odd pronunciations of place names, but what galled me was that he put a southern accent on Pemberton's words. It is unfair, but the narrator's ignorance reflects on the author and undermines his very good analysis of Grant and his rightful place in U.S. Civil War history.

excellent book, distracting narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I can't recommend this book because the narration is so distracting. Antietam is read as "antie edam" and Monocacy is read as "mono casey"

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of E. Roy Worley?

Grover Gardner

True history

What did you love best about Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not a Butcher?

Well spoken. Clear and concise story that followed the timline of Grant's battles.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Grant. There was a lot of insight into others, but the book was about Grant.

Very interesting history

I am not a Civil War buff and didn't know much about Grant, except that he had accepted Lee's surrender at Appomatox. This was a very interesting summary of Grant's Civil War career, showing how he aggressively pursued victory. For any other listeners, I would suggest getting some maps showing the Vicksburg and Virginia campaigns, because I would have liked to look at a map during some of the narration describing the movement of the armies.

True History of U.S. Grant

All the myths of General Grant are debunked in this great book about the Civil war. Two of the best military men of all time were Grant and Sherman. Many of the North's Generals were far less than adequate.

Enlightening

Puts long overdue perspective on a brilliant historical character. The statics were necessary but a bit distracting from the narrative.

worthwhile if flawed

This book reveals a lot of information the average Civil War casual student will not know. It suffers somewhat from over- argument- I admire Ulysses S Grant hugely, but some of the descriptions of actions battles and casualties are rather slanted in the General's favor. I can still recommend the book however, and I'm glad to have read it. The reader did a very solid job and my few criticisms are of the I think he mispronounced that word nature. It's a good book.