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Ah, that old childhood chestnut, you're thinking--boy, is she lame! But bear with

me--I have a reason for asking. The "joke" behind that question, of course, is that it is self-evident. Who's buried in Grant's Tomb? D'oh! Grant!

Later in life the joke became slightly more arch when some of us learned that Grant is not there alone--his wife, Julia Dent Grant, also lies entombed above

That's not a surprise, and it's certainly not exciting. After all, plenty of former presidents (at least the dead ones) are buried with their wives. However, when I read the following paragraph from Simon & Schuster editor-in-chief  Michael Korda's new Grant biography, I wondered about Julia:

"...the middle period of Grant's life is disappointing. Appomattox was his greatest moment -- the years afterward, despite two terms as president, show him as a man drifting into late middle age without a sense of direction, eager to become a wealthy and respected bourgeois but congenitally ill-equipped to do so.''

This certainly isn't inaccurate -- and even if I thought it were, I would not critique Korda's reasoning itself without a thorough read of his book. However, having written a (very minor indeed) juvenile biography of Grant several years ago, I've done quite a bit of reading on the good General and know that no matter how directionless he was, much of the reason why he was "eager" to become such a bourgeois was because of his wife and children.

Julia Dent grew up a pampered Southern belle who described her childhood as "idyllic" and whose father objected to her engagement to "Ulys," her brother Frederick's <st1:place>West Point</st1:place> classmate, because "the boy is too poor." Nevertheless, Julia endured years as a military wife before Grant's election to the White House.

But here's where my interest lies: many contemporary sources documented Julia Grant's extravagant entertaining, clothing, and living. With resources low after his presidency, Grant tried several times to make a go in business ventures--but he was a terrible businessman, and the family lost everything.

Grant eventually penned his long and colorful memoirs during his slow demise from cancer -- and the sale of that book allowed Julia Grant to live out her years comfortably.

So I wonder: while it's indisputable that Grant was "ill-equipped" to become a wealthy businessman, was he really "without a sense of direction?" Or was he a man in thrall to a woman who loved luxury and ease? This isn't an answer. But it points up one of the challenges of biography: sometimes things like presidential pillow talk are given a lot of credence, sometimes none at all -- even when the subjects are still alive. But when the president's pillow is a granite slab, it's even tougher to get a balanced read.

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