ron chernow emphasizes a couple of things.e emphasizes the presidency and the various strides that were made. all of which were erased in the compromise of 1877. ron chernow makes too much of grant's alcoholism. he wants to change the way we is of all gos instead of looking at it as a , moral failing as it would have been regarded in the 19th century, to look at it more as an addiction. i think when grant was alone in the west between the mexican and civil wars, he probably did drink to excess. the circumstances surrounding his resignation from the army are mysterious. i resist the temptation to make grant's relationship or struggle with alcohol the main narrative of his life. brian: this is called an annotated memoir. what is that mean? ms. samet: it is full of my own annotations and illustrations. that is where i try to put his descriptions in parallel with descriptions of similar or same episodes by his contemporaries. a description of a siege or an attack, comparing those with descriptions of other periods. everything from

here's one of the most recent ones, ron chernow. with got into the habit, great fortitude and courage, he would go four or five hours at a stretch without eating or drinking. that wasn't just to avoid the pain of swallowing, but to avoid taking painkillers that might interfere with his mental clarity. any -- i don't know if any masterpiece like this has been composed under such terrific circumstances. even mark twain said that style is flawless and no one can improve upon it. was such aht it great military memoir that it deserved to stand alongside seasoned commentators. many have agreed. brian: what would you add to that? ms. samet: i would suggest that the story of the memoir's composition is part of wetlands this book it's great power. the pain that grant suffered, the way he had to conserve his energy, the library of congress has a collection of many of the notes that grant would write. ofad the moving experience readin g the manuscript alongsie those notes. you see the dissolution of his depletingody, and the of the reserves of