556 pages, frontispiece (portrait), 8 maps, cloth, dj, ex-library with usual library markings otherwise very good. From the publisher: Grant Takes Command gives us invaluable assistance in untangling the enigma of this remarkable Union warrior who has puzzled so many for so long. It gives us a detailed and revealing portrait of Grant during the last year and a half of the war. With maps by Samuel H. Bryant. From the foreword: After the capture of Vicksburg on July 3, 1863, Grant's army starts a period of occupation, absorbing its conquest of the Mississippi valley. In the east, the Army of the Potomac rests after its great victory at Gettysburg. In central Tennessee, the Federal Army of the Cumberland is moving to drive Confederate forces back into Georgia. The Federal government in Washington, sensing a turning point in the war, starts to cast about for the best path to final victory. As the authorities begin this task, they realize their most successful soldier is the one they know least about."

BRUCE CATTON AMERICAN CIVIL WAR UNITED STATES ARMY GENERAL