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Grant and Twain: The Story of a Friendship That Changed America (2004)

door Mark Perry

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284792,058 (4.04)10
Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. HTML:In the spring of 1884 Ulysses S. Grant heeded the advice of Mark Twain and finally agreed to write his memoirs. Little did Grant or Twain realize that this seemingly straightforward decision would profoundly alter not only both their lives but the course of American literature. Over the next fifteen months, as the two men became close friends and intimate collaborators, Grant raced against the spread of cancer to compose a triumphant account of his life and timesâ??while Twain struggled to complete and publish his greatest novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.In this deeply moving and meticulously researched book, veteran writer Mark Perry reconstructs the heady months when Grant and Twain inspired and cajoled each other to create two quintessentially American masterpieces.
In a bold and colorful narrative, Perry recounts the early careers of these two giants, traces their quest for fame and elusive fortunes, and then follows the series of events that brought them together as friends. The reason Grant let Twain talk him into writing his memoirs was simple: He was bankrupt and needed the money. Twain promised Grant princely returns in exchange for the right to edit and publish the bookâ??and though the writerâ??s own finances were tottering, he kept his word to the general and his family.
Mortally ill and battling debts, magazine editors, and a constant crush of reporters, Grant fought bravely to get the story of his life and his Civil War victories down on paper. Twain, meanwhile, staked all his hopes, both financial and literary, on the tale of a ragged boy and a runaway slave that he had been unable to finish for decades. As Perry delves into the story of the menâ??s deepening friendship and mutual influence, he arrives at the startling discovery of the true model for the character of Huckleberry Finn.
With a cast of fascinating characters, including General William T. Sherman, William Dean Howells, William Henry Vanderbilt, and Abraham Lincoln, Perryâ??s narrative takes in the whole sweep of a glittering, unscrupulous age. A story of friendship and history, inspiration and desperation, genius and ruin, Grant and Twain captures a pivotal moment in the lives of two towering Americans and the age t
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1-5 van 7 worden getoond (volgende | toon alle)
I've read biographies of both men, but it was nice to have this focus and the analysis as to how they may have influenced each other's writing. I love Twain, and it is always hard to see descriptions of his taste for money, but I felt the author was relatively fair and did not belabor the point. All in all, a good addition to the list of anyone who is a fan of either Grant or Twain ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
A short history of the last days of Ulysses Grant's life, when, in the throes of oral cancer, he was struggling to complete his memoirs, to be published and sold by subscription by Twain's fledgling company. Grant had resisted writing his memoirs, but when he fell victim to his financial partners' ill-advised investment practices and found himself both bankrupt and dying, he realized his only option was to sell his recollections. His friend Sam Clemens encouraged him to break with The Century magazine which had paid Grant to write several articles on his military campaigns, and to allow Clemens to publish a two volume edition of memoirs. The offer, according to Clemens, would assure Grant that his wife and family would be well-provided for. The book provides background on both Grant and Twain, comparing their lives in intriguing ways. Well written, if a tad repetitive. Lots of vivid detail about Grant's final, personal battle, with sources fully documented in end notes, and a helpful bibliography. ( )
  laytonwoman3rd | Nov 29, 2023 |
A very interesting look at the friendship between Mark Twain and U.S. Grant, with the focus being Grant's effort to finish his memoirs before his death from throat cancer. ( )
  nmele | Apr 6, 2013 |
Embarrassingly, I admit I knew about as much of General Grant as the typical person: he was a president after serving as a general in the Civil War. Similarly, like most, I had more familiarity with the contrarian, Mark Twain. I closed the back cover on this book with a profound respect for both men and their accomplishments.

Mark Perry has created a dual biography which mostly focuses on the time in which Twain encourages General Grant to document his memoirs. Perry provides a comprehensive history of both men in their formative years as well as their burgeoning years when they amassed exploits to make them notable. Like other dual biographies have illustrated, these two men have many coincidences in their lives that are uncanny.

Grant and Twain is layered with so many different levels, I felt more knowledgeable with more than both men's lives. Mr. Perry wove the influence numerous occurrences had on the events of Grant and Twain. Mark Perry delves into a little "inside baseball" with the tumultuous world of publishing, both periodical and book; as an author, he likely understands what both men went through as they wrote momentous books; he shows that even in the late nineteenth century, the journalists who camped outside General Grant's apartment and the newspapers they reported for were sometimes just as representative of the news business's underbelly. Mr. Perry also authoritatively discusses the impact race, racism and the end of slavery had on the men and their era; Grant always an abolitionist, Twain matured as he removed himself from his Southern roots.

Again, this book is less of a biographical account of either man, but provides enough "background" preparation to allow the reader to understand how respectable this pair was. As Mr. Perry shares in the prologue, this book is less about each man individually, and more about their personal afflictions and a fifteen month business agreement which turned to a friendship. ( )
  HistReader | May 3, 2012 |
Several years ago I read a full biography of Mark Twain, but knew virtually nothing about General Grant except some information about his civil war escapades. I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the friendship between these two remarkable people. Grant was a fascinating subject, and the information on Twain, though I already knew most of it, was still interesting. Perry did an excellent job of bringing the two men alive and giving the reader all the necessary information regarding their backgrounds and friendship. Recommended. ( )
1 stem whymaggiemay | Aug 19, 2011 |
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Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. HTML:In the spring of 1884 Ulysses S. Grant heeded the advice of Mark Twain and finally agreed to write his memoirs. Little did Grant or Twain realize that this seemingly straightforward decision would profoundly alter not only both their lives but the course of American literature. Over the next fifteen months, as the two men became close friends and intimate collaborators, Grant raced against the spread of cancer to compose a triumphant account of his life and timesâ??while Twain struggled to complete and publish his greatest novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.In this deeply moving and meticulously researched book, veteran writer Mark Perry reconstructs the heady months when Grant and Twain inspired and cajoled each other to create two quintessentially American masterpieces.
In a bold and colorful narrative, Perry recounts the early careers of these two giants, traces their quest for fame and elusive fortunes, and then follows the series of events that brought them together as friends. The reason Grant let Twain talk him into writing his memoirs was simple: He was bankrupt and needed the money. Twain promised Grant princely returns in exchange for the right to edit and publish the bookâ??and though the writerâ??s own finances were tottering, he kept his word to the general and his family.
Mortally ill and battling debts, magazine editors, and a constant crush of reporters, Grant fought bravely to get the story of his life and his Civil War victories down on paper. Twain, meanwhile, staked all his hopes, both financial and literary, on the tale of a ragged boy and a runaway slave that he had been unable to finish for decades. As Perry delves into the story of the menâ??s deepening friendship and mutual influence, he arrives at the startling discovery of the true model for the character of Huckleberry Finn.
With a cast of fascinating characters, including General William T. Sherman, William Dean Howells, William Henry Vanderbilt, and Abraham Lincoln, Perryâ??s narrative takes in the whole sweep of a glittering, unscrupulous age. A story of friendship and history, inspiration and desperation, genius and ruin, Grant and Twain captures a pivotal moment in the lives of two towering Americans and the age t

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