PAPERBACK EDITION

Grant Takes Command gives invaluable assistance untangling the enigma of this remarkable Union warrior who has puzzled so many for so long. Catton gives a detailed and revealing portrait of Grant during the last year and a half of war.

Grant was made commander in chief after his decisive victory at Chattanooga and the account of his activities becomes, in essence, the story of how the war was won. As any good historian should, Catton answers the crucial questions concerning his subject. How had Lincoln concluded that Grant was the general who could win the war for the Union? How did Grant kept his footing amidst the tangle of political snares that had brought many of his predecessors to grief? And, most importanatly, why was Robert E. Lee unable to break out of Grant's grip and frustrate his aim as the courtly Confederate had done so successfully heretofore?

Once answered, these questions show what sort of man it was whom Lincoln took into partnership and what that man did with his share of the responsibilities.