Ron Chernow

Absolutely. One of the things that attracted me to the grand story was that I felt that all the people that I had written about up until that point were kind of built for success. I mean, you read about the early years of Alexander Hamilton. He has a focus, a discipline, and drive intelligence. You know, if he didn't do what, you know, he ended up doing, he would have succeeded at something.

Yeah. And even John D. Rockefeller, when he's, you know, a young clerk on the Cleveland docks, he said, I was after something big. Whereas, you know, 50, 100 pages into Ulysses S. Grant, you figure this guy's going to end up a footnote in history at best. And so I was attracted to the idea of writing about failure. I had written about so much success. And after

Yeah. And even John D. Rockefeller, when he's, you know, a young clerk on the Cleveland docks, he said, I was after something big. Whereas, you know, 50, 100 pages into Ulysses S. Grant, you figure this guy's going to end up a footnote in history at best. And so I was attracted to the idea of writing about failure. I had written about so much success. And after

Yeah. And even John D. Rockefeller, when he's, you know, a young clerk on the Cleveland docks, he said, I was after something big. Whereas, you know, 50, 100 pages into Ulysses S. Grant, you figure this guy's going to end up a footnote in history at best. And so I was attracted to the idea of writing about failure. I had written about so much success. And after

As we all know, life is much more about failure for most of us than success. And so with Grant, suddenly the Civil War comes along. He had West Point. He'd been in the Mexican War. He stood out all this military lore in his head. But he's working in his father's leather goods store in Galena, Illinois, where he's working as a clerk junior to his two younger brothers. You can imagine how that felt.

As we all know, life is much more about failure for most of us than success. And so with Grant, suddenly the Civil War comes along. He had West Point. He'd been in the Mexican War. He stood out all this military lore in his head. But he's working in his father's leather goods store in Galena, Illinois, where he's working as a clerk junior to his two younger brothers. You can imagine how that felt.

As we all know, life is much more about failure for most of us than success. And so with Grant, suddenly the Civil War comes along. He had West Point. He'd been in the Mexican War. He stood out all this military lore in his head. But he's working in his father's leather goods store in Galena, Illinois, where he's working as a clerk junior to his two younger brothers. You can imagine how that felt.

the war breaks out there's a tremendous shortage particularly in the north of you know trained officers and he suddenly meshes with his historical moment you know and then he rises and rises and rises but he's almost 40 at that point he could easily have ended up living a life of total you know obscurity And I think this is one of the things that inspired a lot of people reading the story.

the war breaks out there's a tremendous shortage particularly in the north of you know trained officers and he suddenly meshes with his historical moment you know and then he rises and rises and rises but he's almost 40 at that point he could easily have ended up living a life of total you know obscurity And I think this is one of the things that inspired a lot of people reading the story.

the war breaks out there's a tremendous shortage particularly in the north of you know trained officers and he suddenly meshes with his historical moment you know and then he rises and rises and rises but he's almost 40 at that point he could easily have ended up living a life of total you know obscurity And I think this is one of the things that inspired a lot of people reading the story.

You know, we all feel that we have something special inside of us if only the right set of circumstances, you know, happens. And Grant is kind of the greatest example of that.

You know, we all feel that we have something special inside of us if only the right set of circumstances, you know, happens. And Grant is kind of the greatest example of that.

You know, we all feel that we have something special inside of us if only the right set of circumstances, you know, happens. And Grant is kind of the greatest example of that.

Yeah, I mean, he's born into a slave-holding family in a slave-owning town in a slave-owning state. Okay, he's born in Hannibal, which is tucked all the way up in the northeast corner of Missouri. It's right on the Mississippi River.

Yeah, I mean, he's born into a slave-holding family in a slave-owning town in a slave-owning state. Okay, he's born in Hannibal, which is tucked all the way up in the northeast corner of Missouri. It's right on the Mississippi River.

Yeah, I mean, he's born into a slave-holding family in a slave-owning town in a slave-owning state. Okay, he's born in Hannibal, which is tucked all the way up in the northeast corner of Missouri. It's right on the Mississippi River.

So it's then and now a rather isolated rural area, except here is this broad, shining, magnificent waterway that's kind of bringing once or twice a day the world through Hannibal and And pouring off those steamboats might be circus players, it might be traveling salesmen, it might be a minstrel show, whatever.

So it's then and now a rather isolated rural area, except here is this broad, shining, magnificent waterway that's kind of bringing once or twice a day the world through Hannibal and And pouring off those steamboats might be circus players, it might be traveling salesmen, it might be a minstrel show, whatever.

So it's then and now a rather isolated rural area, except here is this broad, shining, magnificent waterway that's kind of bringing once or twice a day the world through Hannibal and And pouring off those steamboats might be circus players, it might be traveling salesmen, it might be a minstrel show, whatever.

He sees the whole world passing through him and it kind of begins to give him an intimation of a wider world. But you're right. I mean, going through his letters, you know, when he's a teenager, not only statements kind of crude and racist about, you know, blacks, but Chinese, I mean, you name it. Yeah.