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

Grant's cancer began in the right tonsil and spread throughout his throat, which is why he bled so much and coughed up dead tissue. Bad way to die, but it shows Grant's strength and determination to provide for his family.

This book is a wonderful introduction to both Grant and Twain and their works. The story clarifies the not intimate - but respectful - relationship of these two men and shows how even though their interactions were subtle, they exerted great positive influence on one another's life and place in history.

Mark Perry's "Grant and Twain" may well be the only work in which the personality of Mark Twain plays second fiddle to another. Whereas Twain was a giant of literature, Grant was a giant of humanity and this book offers plenty of evidence in that regard. U.S. Grant was such a mass of contradiction. He was a soldier with a distaste for war, yet he possessed little fear in battle and deployed his forces with vicious ferocity. He was a man of great ethical conviction, yet as president he headed one of the more corrupt administrations in our history. With a clarity no doubt inspired by Grant's writings, Perry explores those contradictions and how they made his relationship with Twain noteworthy. A lesser historian might have just focused on Grant's final year of life, and how he approached his final illness with dignity and stoicism. But Perry finds deeper meaning in the ways that the mutual admiration between Grant and Twain came to influence them both. Twain's effort to finish Huckleberry Finn dovetailed nicely with Grant's reluctance to write his memoirs. Grant's perspective on the South helped Twain flesh out some of the nuances within his work. The novel had stalled in the writing process and in fact had been shelved by Twain as having no promise. Meanwhile, Twain moved from basically looking for a publishing coup (that of winning the rights to Grant's memoirs) to a more nurturing role as writing mentor to the General. Twain's numerous business failures were legion, but Grant's writings were a notable exception. Perhaps that was due to the respect that Twain held for Grant prior to their association, or more a reflection of the admiration that he developed as the ailing ex-president applied himself to the task of putting his memories to paper. Grant began his memoirs after being diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. As time elapsed, the effort to give his perspective on his military career and the Civil War became a counterpoint to his illness; perhaps even to the point of prolonging his life somewhat. Grant and Twain is excellent history. It's informative, readable and enjoyable. And to it's credit, this book will (should) foster renewed interest in reading Huckleberry Finn and Personal Memoirs by U.S. Grant.

Despite the author's best efforts, I thought the premise of the book -- that Grant and Twain's friendship was of great importance in both men's lives -- was not well proven in the book. However, the intimate portrayal of Grant in this short book was very interesting to me, and earned the book 4 stars in my mind.

This is an excellent read for non-histotians. With the thoughts of reading large volumes on the civil war, this short volume was just what I was looking for. The author made the connection of General Grant and many historical figures that gave this book so much appeal. I cannot comment on the accuracy of these accounts; but, I can recommend this book to the larger audience. Those who love Twain's books will find a "populist" ring to this account of two major literary Americans. Hope to read more books like this and let the true historians debate over the details.

Mark Perry's Grant and Twain is certain to be a controversial read: it analyzes the Grant and Twain relationship in a new and different way -- casting Twain as Grant's alter ego, to be sure, but also casting Grant as the prospective model for Huckleberry Finn. For those readers interested in a new look at Huckleberry Finn, and for those readers who believe, as Perry certainly does in this book, that Grant is a great American -- then Grant and Twain will serve as more than a good introduction. The book is not intended as a biography of two men, somehow melded together. Nor is it a hagiography of either. Gone are the endless praises for either. In their place is a straightforward analysis of their friendship, but without the frills. Grant here is what we know him to be -- enigmatic, but filled with greatness, and now fighting the most important battle of his life. Over and against him is Mark Twain -- as enigmatic, but certainly as great. But what Twain sees in Grant, and what Grant sees in Twain is the important part of this book. Both men, so very different, share one view -- that the question of race and racism is the question of their time. And their struggle to understand their time is the key to this book. Those who wish an unvarnished triumphant view of American history need not read this book. It is deeper than that: it seeks to explain not just two men, or their families, but their views of their own time. By my lights, that makes Grant and Twain invaluable -- and why I give this tremendous read five stars.