"This splendid biography gives Rawlins his due as Grant's chief of staff and close friend without exaggerating his influence on the general's professional and personal qualities. Ottens punctures myths about Grant's drinking problem and about Rawlins' role as his moral guardian. Readers will gain many new insights about Grant as well as Rawlins himself in this important contribution to Civil War scholarship."—James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era
"A solid biography of John A. Rawlins has always been an alarming gap in modern Civil War historiography. Now that gap is filled admirably with General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man . Incisive, judicious, and well written, Ottens' fine biography is a welcome addition to our understanding of the Civil War and in particular Ulysses S. Grant's role in it."—Timothy B. Smith, author of Shiloh: Conquer or Perish and The Union Assaults at Vicksburg.
"How astonishing it's taken a century and a half since John Rawlins' death for a proper biography of a figure so pivotal to Grant's success during the Civil War and after. Ottens' formidable sleuthing fleshes out even Rawlins' obscure early years in Galena about which so little is known. Few have written with as much nuance, depth and above all balance about Grant's relationship with his loyal, unassuming confidante. The image that emerges in this sympathetic, first-ever study is as enjoyable to the casual history buff as it is instructive to the serious scholar. Well worth the wait!"—William Butts, Main Street Fine Books & Manuscripts and Book review editor, Manuscript
"It is impossible to fully appreciate Ulysses S. Grant's success during the Civil War without an intimate understanding of the role his chief-of-staff and close friend General John A Rawlins played during their long association. A brilliant and selfless champion of the Union cause, Rawlins also was significant in his own right. As author Allen J. Ottens suggests in the subtitle of this marvelous biography and then demonstrates conclusively in the book, John A. Rawlins was "no ordinary man." Nor is this an ordinary work of biography. I enthusiastically recommend General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man as one of the finest and most important Civil War biographies to appear in recent decades. It is a masterpiece."—Peter Cozzens, author of Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation, among other books
"This is a formidable, definitive biography of a general long overshadowed by his boss and neighbor, Ulysses S. Grant—but crucial to Grant's Union-saving success. Allen Ottens has made a major contribution to Civil War history by so thoughtfully reconsidering an officer who has long deserved to rank as a hero in his own right."—Harold Holzer, winner of The Gilder-Lehrman Lincoln Prize, author of Lincoln and the Power of the Press
"A proper biography of this intriguing figure has been long overdue, and Ottens delivers wonderfully in this insightful, scholarly yet eminently readable cradle-to-grave account"—Manuscripts
"Ottens succeeds brilliantly in fixing our gaze on the engaging figure of John Rawlins while still giving fresh insights into Grant, the Union Army, and the broader Civil War era. No Ordinary Man merits the highest recommendation."—Emerging Civil War
"A comprehensive and compelling examination of John Rawlins—and by extension, Ulysses S. Grant—General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man should be of interest to all Civil War scholars, but especially those of Ulysses S. Grant, his staff, his campaigns, and his legacy."—Zachery Cowsert, Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts, Journal of Military History
"General John A. Rawlins offers a fresh perspective on and welcome revision of Rawlins's accomplishments as staff officer, his personal and family life, his relationship with Grant in history and in memory, and his vocal support for African American civil rights.... While Rawlins has been conspicuous in Grant scholarship, his own career has now received its just due in General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man."—Joan Waugh, professor emeritus, UCLA Department of History, The Journal of the Civil War Era
"Every Civil War buff will certainly want to add this important biography to thier military library."—Roger D. Cunningham, The Journal of America's Military Past
