The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant.

The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. Volume 25: 1874; Volume 26: 1875. Edited by John Y. Simon and others. (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, c. 2003. Pp. xxvi, 505; xxvi, 618. $90.00, ISBN 0-8093-2498-9; $90.00, ISBN 0-8093-2499-7.)

Slowly reaching its last volumes, The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant has been a remarkable endeavor. John Y. Simon, the editor, decided against limiting the project to the relatively small corpus of items written by the famously uncommunicative Grant. Instead, he has placed Grant's simple letters, terse orders, official proclamations, and public messages, nearly all of which are reproduced in the main section of the volume, in the context of the president's incoming correspondence, the correspondence of his aides, the diaries and letters of members of his cabinet, and relevant newspaper correspondence. Almost every item is followed by surrounding correspondence and other sources that provide context. This contextual material is followed by specific footnotes to the reproduced item. However, the sort of information provided in the footnotes often seems indistinguishable from that provided in the contextual material. Incoming correspondence that is not reprinted in the main section is reproduced or excerpted in an appended calendar.

Less effort has gone into prefatory and ancillary material. A brief, non-interpretative introductory essay outlines the major events connected to the documents that follow. A very limited description of editorial procedure is not very informative. A thorough index accompanies each volume.

These two volumes are a rich resource for the study of Reconstruction and related issues, post-Civil War financial policy, foreign relations, government dealings with Native Americans, and patronage and the civil service. Although there is a fair amount of material relating to Grant's private finances and property management, there is hardly anything on his family life. However, his straightforward warmth toward friends and his love of travel is readily apparent. The result is a thick body of materials--sources for further research that could form the basis for numerous articles and even books. Each volume reflects an immense expenditure of time and effort to flesh out what would otherwise be a sparse publication. Each is an awe-inspiring accomplishment.

Nonetheless, there are problems. The comprehensiveness of the publication is not clearly indicated. The description above is based on a reading of the materials themselves and information provided in the first volume, published nearly forty years ago, and never repeated. The chronology in which Simon and his assistants place all this material is often confusing. Incoming correspondence is reprinted not in chronological order but wherever it appears most relevant to an item produced by Grant. A typical entry is an item written by Grant, followed in smaller print first by whatever correspondence immediately precipitated it. Next the editors and staff provide subsequent correspondence and other materials that carry the story forward. Then they go backward in time to present prior materials that give a yet broader context. They then carry the story forward again. Readers will often have to reconstruct the chronology for themselves. Moreover, some of the material bears only a tangential relationship to the main entry. Letters or other items written years later sometimes are included in an annotation simply because they emanated from someone mentioned in the contextual material. Many entries relegated to the calendar resemble the convoluted entries of the main part of the volume.

Despite these problems, The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant is an extremely valuable resource for researchers. The publication offers an immense amount of material on public policy in the post-Civil War era. The volumes have to be explored the same way one explores a great manuscript repository. No matter the topic of one's research in public life, quantities of useful information are scattered everywhere. Every research library with an interest in American history should have a set, at least until it--hopefully--appears online.

MICHAEL LES BENEDICT 

Ohio State University