Sublime

His unerring judgment, sterling character, rectitude, steadfast patriotism, unflagging sense of duty, and civic-mindedness—these exemplary virtues were achieved only by his ability to subdue the underlying volatility of his nature and direct his entire psychological makeup to the single-minded achievement of a noble cause.

Eisenhower wrote superb declaratory prose, but his talent should not be confused with that of Ulysses Grant—one of the finest wordsmiths in the English language.

now,

his disheartened countrymen, soothe the animosity of his generals, and mediate among members of his often contentious administration.

work in human affairs. The previous year, he had granted an audience to a group of Quakers, including Eliza Gurney. “If I had had my way,” he reportedly said during the meeting, “this war would never have been commenced; if I had been allowed my way this war would have been ended before this, but we find it still continues; and we must believe that

Jan Christiaan Smuts,

Genghis Khan was the most effective military leader in history. He conquered more than twice as much land as anyone else, and he did it in a series of astonishing campaigns. He subdued some twelve million square miles—an area roughly the size of Africa,

The various efforts of Gates, Conway, Mifflin, et al. to discredit and even depose Washington have been known to history as the Conway Cabal. Cabal is much too strong a word for this loosely organized network of foes. In later years Washington confirmed that he thought an “attempt was made by a party in Congress to supplant me in that command,” and

In many respects, Germany’s total defeat resembled the total defeat of the Confederacy in the American Civil War. In 1878, on a world tour after his presidency, Ulysses Grant called on Chancellor Bismarck in Berlin. Bismarck commiserated with Grant about the Civil War, and lamented the fact that the war had been so terrible. It had to be terrible,