No one succeeds alone, and Ulysses S. Grant was no exception. From the earliest days of the Civil War to the heights of Grants power in the White House, John A. Rawlins was ever at Grants side. Yet Rawlinss role in Grants career is often overlooked, and he barely received mention in Grants own two-volume Memoirs. General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man by Allen J. Ottens is the first major biography of Rawlins in over a century and traces his rise to assistant adjutant general and ultimately Grants secretary of war. Ottens presents the portrait of a man who teamed with Grant, who submerged his needs and ambition in the service of Grant, and who at times served as the doubter who questioned whether Grant possessed the background to tackle the great responsibilities of the job. Rawlins played a pivotal role in Grants relatively small staff, acting as administrator, counselor, and defender of Grants burgeoning popularity. Rawlins qualifies as a true patriot, a man devoted to the Union and devoted to Grant. His is the story of a man who persevered in wartime and during the tumultuous years of Reconstruction and who, despite a ravaging disease that would cut short his blossoming career, grew to become a proponent of the personal and citizenship rights of those formerly enslaved. General John A. Rawlins will prove to be a fascinating and essential read for all who have an interest in leadership, the Civil War, or Ulysses S. Grant.About author(s):Allen J. Ottens is Professor Emeritus of Counselor Education and Supervision, Northern Illinois University. He worked as a psychologist at several university counseling centers. He is also a past president of the Manuscript Society. He has had a lifelong interest in the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. He, his wife, and their green-cheek conure, Cisco, live in northern Illinois.