Ronald C. White at Grant Cottage June 9
Author of best-selling Grant biography to speak
MT. MCGREGOR, NY – Author Ronald C. White will deliver the David H. Porter Memorial Lecture at Grant Cottage on Saturday, June 9 at 3 p.m. Entitled “Ulysses S. Grant: A New Vision for the American Leadership,” White’s lecture is based on his best-selling biography, American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant.
White will offer three episodes from Grant’s life–Civil War, presidency, and the writing of his memoirs in his final illness–that we might understand why in his time Grant was routinely grouped with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in the pantheon of great American leaders.
“I have been looking forward to being at Grant Cottage for a long time,” said White. “My approach to American biographies is what I call writing from the inside out. Everyone knows what Grant did: lead the Union armies to victory in the Civil War and serve as President for two terms. I am convinced that Grant’s character–his integrity and humility–is why we need to gain a fresh appreciation of him today in our tumultuous and divisive political culture.”
A book signing will be held at the conclusion of the lecture. The suggested donation for attendees is $5 per person.
Ronald C. White is the author of two New York Times bestselling American biographies. American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant [2016] won the 2017 William Henry Seward Award for “Excellence in Civil War Biography.” General David H. Petraeus (Ret.) wrote, “Certain to be recognized as the classic work on Ulysses S. Grant.” He is also the author of A. Lincoln: A Biography in 2009. USA Today said, “If you read one book about Lincoln, make it A. LINCOLN.” He also wrote Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural, a New York Times Notable Book, and The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words, a Los Angeles Times bestseller. He is presently researching and writing a biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the hero Little Round Top at Gettysburg, four-term Governor of Maine, and President of Bowdoin College.
The program is made possible thanks to the David H. Porter Memorial Grant from the Adirondack Trust Community Fund. The lecture has been named for Porter, who was the fifth Skidmore College president and a longtime member of the Community Fund Advisory Committee. The Adirondack Trust Company Community Fund (“The Community Fund”) was established in 2009 to serve as a perpetual source of philanthropic support for the needs of local charities. The Fund is an independent 501(c) (3) charitable organization.
###
U.S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site is the final residence of Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War Commanding General of the U.S. Army, 18th U.S. President and beloved American public figure. Impoverished by a Ponzi-style swindle and dying of throat cancer, he moved to the Cottage on June 16, 1885. With the love and support of his family, his publisher Mark Twain, and the nation at large, he completed The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant only days before his death on July 23, 1885. The two-volume book’s publication ensured his family’s financial security and gave the world one of the most critically acclaimed memoirs by a U.S. president or historic military figure. Grant Cottage is owned by the State of New York and operated by The Friends of the Ulysses S. Grant Cottage, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Beginning Saturday, May 26, Grant Cottage will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.