SOLDIER OF DESTINY: Slavery, Secession, and the Redemption of Ulysses S. Grant

Reveals that Grant always possessed the latent abilities of a skilled commander--and he was able to develop these skills out West without the overwhelming pressure faced by more senior commanders in the Eastern theater at the beginning of the Civil War. Grant was a true Westerner himself and it was his experience in the West--before and during the Civil War--that was central to his rise. Photos.