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Grant has had his biographers over the years, but in Miller he has finally found a writer who captures him in his completeness as a man and a military leader, overcoming heavy odds and repeated failures to win the decisive campaign of the war. -- Rob Citino, Executive Director, Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, and Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian, The National World War II Museum This superbly written narrative is a portrait of America's greatest soldier, warts and all, an accounting of Grant's moral evolution on the slave question, of his many tactical gambles and errors, as well as his strategic triumph in the decisive campaign of America's most important war. We also meet ordinary soldiers, hear the iron dice roll, smell swamps and river lands that impede key logistics in the far-flung Western theater, feel the summer heat and thickly humid air. Most remarkably, we are guided up and down the Mississippi over the course of the greatest amphibious campaign of the 19th century. -- Cathal J. Nolan, author of The Allure of Battle, winner of the 2018 Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History Miller deftly conjures the campaign's uncertainty and drama-the surprises that lay around every bend of the region's forbidding terrain and swampy waterways. At the heart of his story is U.S. Grant, who emerges here as a master of maneuver and improvisation, and a hero made human and real. This is military history at its best. -- Elizabeth R. Varon, author of Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War This is a magnificent book, certainly one of the very best ever written about the Civil War. It has breadth and depth, and it is written in a way that makes the reader truly understand not only the battle and siege of Vicksburg, not only the Civil War, but war itself. -- John M. Barry, author of Rising Tide [Vicksburg] was the most satisfying Union campaign of the war, and Miller chronicles it with aplomb. An expert, detailed account that should remain the definitive account for quite some time. * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * The fullest and best history of the Vicksburg campaign. -- James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom A quarter of a million slaves lived in the lower Mississippi Valley when the Civil War broke out. In Donald Miller's Vicksburg, we learn not only the story of the war's great western turning point, but how Ulysses S. Grant evolved into a military emancipator of most of those African Americans and therefore with time crushed the Confederacy. Carefully researched and written with sizzling and persuasive prose, Miller has found the way to write both military and emancipation history in one profound package. Never have headquarters, slave quarters, and the ultimate purpose of the war been so seamlessly and brilliantly demonstrated. -- David W. Blight, Sterling Professor of History, Yale University, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

"“A superb account of both military leadership and soldierly warfare. . . . Mr. Miller has done a prodigious amount of research. . . It is an epic story in itself but of course one part of the grand epic of the Civil War. Books like Vicksburg are exactly what Thomas Hardy had in mind when he wrote that ‘war makes rattling good history.’” -- John Steele Gordon * The Wall Street Journal * “A quarter of a million slaves lived in the lower Mississippi Valley when the Civil War broke out.  In Donald Miller's Vicksburg, we learn not only the story of the war's great western turning point, but how Ulysses S. Grant evolved into a military emancipator of most of those African Americans and therefore with time crushed the Confederacy.  Carefully researched and written with sizzling and persuasive prose, Miller has found the way to write both military and emancipation history in one profound package.  Never have headquarters, slave quarters, and the ultimate purpose of the war been so seamlessly and brilliantly demonstrated.” -- David W. Blight, Sterling Professor of History, Yale University, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom “The fullest and best history of the Vicksburg campaign.”  -- James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom ""While there have been many books written about Ulysses S. Grant, no recent publication surpasses Miller’s work in terms of capturing the contradictory nature of this man. . . . Miller has crafted an insightful and striking look at the actions of General Grant at a turning point not only of the Civil War but also of American history. This is a great book and one that Civil war enthusiasts should read.” -- Greg A. Romaneck * Civil War Courier * “Miller has compiled the best single-volume treatment of the Vicksburg Campaign. His riveting narrative is well researched and highly informative. . . . A tour de force.” * ARMY magazine * “[Vicksburg] was the most satisfying Union campaign of the war, and Miller chronicles it with aplomb. An expert, detailed account that should remain the definitive account for quite some time.” * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * ""Authoritative, complete, engaging, and enjoyable. . . . Brings to the reader all the rich and crucial history of Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg campaign. . . . Vicksburg will become a Civil War standard."" -- Jonathan R. Allen * LearnCivilWarHistory.com *  ""This is a magnificent book, certainly one of the very best ever written about the Civil War. It has breadth and depth, and it is written in a way that makes the reader truly understand not only the battle and siege of Vicksburg, not only the Civil War, but war itself."" -- John M. Barry, author of Rising Tide ""Readers will marvel at how Grant—a washed-up dry-goods clerk at the beginning of the Civil War—acquires the power and skill that made him the mastermind at Vicksburg of the largest amphibious army-navy operation staged by the U.S. military until D-Day. In a narrative taut with drama, Miller recounts how this resolute Union crusader takes the war down the Mississippi. . . . War history alive with probing intelligence and irresistible passion."" * Booklist * “Miller deftly conjures the campaign's uncertainty and drama—the surprises that lay around every bend of the region's forbidding terrain and swampy waterways. At the heart of his story is U.S. Grant, who emerges here as a master of maneuver and improvisation, and a hero made human and real. This is military history at its best.” -- Elizabeth R. Varon, author of Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War “Elegant. . . . Enlightening. . . . Well-researched and well-told.”  * Publishers Weekly * “This superbly written narrative is a portrait of America’s greatest soldier, warts and all, an accounting of Grant’s moral evolution on the slave question, of his many tactical gambles and errors, as well as his strategic triumph in the decisive campaign of America’s most important war.  We also meet ordinary soldiers, hear the iron dice roll, smell swamps and river lands that impede key logistics in the far-flung Western theater, feel the summer heat and thickly humid air. Most remarkably, we are guided up and down the Mississippi over the course of the greatest amphibious campaign of the 19th century.” -- Cathal J. Nolan, author of The Allure of Battle, winner of the 2018 Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History “Grant has had his biographers over the years, but in Miller he has finally found a writer who captures him in his completeness as a man and a military leader, overcoming heavy odds and repeated failures to win the decisive campaign of the war.”  -- Rob Citino, Executive Director, Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, and Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian, The National World War II Museum ""Miller provides important context for the final siege of Vicksburg by explaining why the city was vital to control of the Mississippi. . . . He superbly integrates events in Washington, keeping primary attention on those in the field of battle and emphasizing the role of freedmen in the victory. . . . Highly recommended."" * Library Journal *"

Grant has had his biographers over the years, but in Miller he has finally found a writer who captures him in his completeness as a man and a military leader, overcoming heavy odds and repeated failures to win the decisive campaign of the war. -- Rob Citino, Executive Director, Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, and Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian, The National World War II Museum This superbly written narrative is a portrait of America's greatest soldier, warts and all, an accounting of Grant's moral evolution on the slave question, of his many tactical gambles and errors, as well as his strategic triumph in the decisive campaign of America's most important war. We also meet ordinary soldiers, hear the iron dice roll, smell swamps and river lands that impede key logistics in the far-flung Western theater, feel the summer heat and thickly humid air. Most remarkably, we are guided up and down the Mississippi over the course of the greatest amphibious campaign of the 19th century. -- Cathal J. Nolan, author of The Allure of Battle, winner of the 2018 Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History Miller deftly conjures the campaign's uncertainty and drama-the surprises that lay around every bend of the region's forbidding terrain and swampy waterways. At the heart of his story is U.S. Grant, who emerges here as a master of maneuver and improvisation, and a hero made human and real. This is military history at its best. -- Elizabeth R. Varon, author of Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War [Vicksburg] was the most satisfying Union campaign of the war, and Miller chronicles it with aplomb. An expert, detailed account that should remain the definitive account for quite some time. * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * The fullest and best history of the Vicksburg campaign. -- James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom A quarter of a million slaves lived in the lower Mississippi Valley when the Civil War broke out. In Donald Miller's Vicksburg, we learn not only the story of the war's great western turning point, but how Ulysses S. Grant evolved into a military emancipator of most of those African Americans and therefore with time crushed the Confederacy. Carefully researched and written with sizzling and persuasive prose, Miller has found the way to write both military and emancipation history in one profound package. Never have headquarters, slave quarters, and the ultimate purpose of the war been so seamlessly and brilliantly demonstrated. -- David W. Blight, Sterling Professor of History, Yale University, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

Miller provides important context for the final siege of Vicksburg by explaining why the city was vital to control of the Mississippi. . . . He superbly integrates events in Washington, keeping primary attention on those in the field of battle and emphasizing the role of freedmen in the victory. . . . Highly recommended. * Library Journal * Grant has had his biographers over the years, but in Miller he has finally found a writer who captures him in his completeness as a man and a military leader, overcoming heavy odds and repeated failures to win the decisive campaign of the war. -- Rob Citino, Executive Director, Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, and Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian, The National World War II Museum This superbly written narrative is a portrait of America's greatest soldier, warts and all, an accounting of Grant's moral evolution on the slave question, of his many tactical gambles and errors, as well as his strategic triumph in the decisive campaign of America's most important war. We also meet ordinary soldiers, hear the iron dice roll, smell swamps and river lands that impede key logistics in the far-flung Western theater, feel the summer heat and thickly humid air. Most remarkably, we are guided up and down the Mississippi over the course of the greatest amphibious campaign of the 19th century. -- Cathal J. Nolan, author of The Allure of Battle, winner of the 2018 Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History Elegant. . . . Enlightening. . . . Well-researched and well-told. * Publishers Weekly * Miller deftly conjures the campaign's uncertainty and drama-the surprises that lay around every bend of the region's forbidding terrain and swampy waterways. At the heart of his story is U.S. Grant, who emerges here as a master of maneuver and improvisation, and a hero made human and real. This is military history at its best. -- Elizabeth R. Varon, author of Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War Readers will marvel at how Grant-a washed-up dry-goods clerk at the beginning of the Civil War-acquires the power and skill that made him the mastermind at Vicksburg of the largest amphibious army-navy operation staged by the U.S. military until D-Day. In a narrative taut with drama, Miller recounts how this resolute Union crusader takes the war down the Mississippi. . . . War history alive with probing intelligence and irresistible passion. * Booklist * This is a magnificent book, certainly one of the very best ever written about the Civil War. It has breadth and depth, and it is written in a way that makes the reader truly understand not only the battle and siege of Vicksburg, not only the Civil War, but war itself. -- John M. Barry, author of Rising Tide Authoritative, complete, engaging, and enjoyable. . . . Brings to the reader all the rich and crucial history of Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg campaign. . . . Vicksburg will become a Civil War standard. -- Jonathan R. Allen * LearnCivilWarHistory.com * [Vicksburg] was the most satisfying Union campaign of the war, and Miller chronicles it with aplomb. An expert, detailed account that should remain the definitive account for quite some time. * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * Miller has compiled the best single-volume treatment of the Vicksburg Campaign. His riveting narrative is well researched and highly informative. . . . A tour de force. * ARMY magazine * While there have been many books written about Ulysses S. Grant, no recent publication surpasses Miller's work in terms of capturing the contradictory nature of this man. . . . Miller has crafted an insightful and striking look at the actions of General Grant at a turning point not only of the Civil War but also of American history. This is a great book and one that Civil war enthusiasts should read. -- Greg A. Romaneck * Civil War Courier * The fullest and best history of the Vicksburg campaign. -- James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom A quarter of a million slaves lived in the lower Mississippi Valley when the Civil War broke out. In Donald Miller's Vicksburg, we learn not only the story of the war's great western turning point, but how Ulysses S. Grant evolved into a military emancipator of most of those African Americans and therefore with time crushed the Confederacy. Carefully researched and written with sizzling and persuasive prose, Miller has found the way to write both military and emancipation history in one profound package. Never have headquarters, slave quarters, and the ultimate purpose of the war been so seamlessly and brilliantly demonstrated. -- David W. Blight, Sterling Professor of History, Yale University, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom A superb account of both military leadership and soldierly warfare. . . . Mr. Miller has done a prodigious amount of research. . . It is an epic story in itself but of course one part of the grand epic of the Civil War. Books like Vicksburg are exactly what Thomas Hardy had in mind when he wrote that 'war makes rattling good history.' -- John Steele Gordon * The Wall Street Journal *

Author Information

Donald L. Miller is the John Henry MacCracken Professor of History Emeritus at Lafayette College and author of ten books, including Vicksburg, and Masters of the Air, currently being made into a television series by Tom Hanks. He has hosted, coproduced, or served as historical consultant for more than thirty television documentaries and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications.

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