User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
“Since puberty [Theodore Roosevelt] had taught himself to pluck the flower safety out of the nettle danger. Although his physical courage was by now legendary, it was not a natural endowment. He had been a timid child in New York City, cut off from schoolboy society by illness, wealth, and private tutors. Inspired by a leonine father, he had labored with weights to build up his strength. Simultaneously, he had built up his courage ‘by sheer dint of practicing fearlessness.’ With every ounce of new muscle, with every point scored over pugilistic, romantic, and political rivals, his personal impetus…had accelerated. Experiences had flashed by him in such number that he was obviously destined to travel a larger landscape of life than were his fellows. He had been a published author at eighteen, a husband at twenty-two, an acclaimed historian and New York assemblyman at twenty-three, a father and a widower at twenty-five, a ranchman at twenty-six, a candidate for Mayor of New York at twenty-seven, a husband again at twenty-eight, a Civil Service Commissioner of the Untied States at thirty…His career had gathered further speed: Police Commissioner of New York City at thirty-six, Assistant Secretary of the Navy at thirty-eight, Colonel of the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, the ‘Rough Riders,’ at thirty-nine. At last, in Cuba, had come the consummating ‘crowded hour.’ A rush, a roar, the sting of his own blood, a surge toward the sky, a smoking pistol in his hand, a soldier in light blue doubling up ‘neatly as a jackrabbit…’ When the smoke cleared, he had found himself atop Kettle Hill on the Heights of San Juan, with a vanquished empire at his feet…”- Edmund Morris,
Theodore RexBefore the age of forty, Theodore Roosevelt had already lived the kind of life you most typically find in novels: the scrawny kid who turns himself into a boxer; the literate Harvard man who turns himself into a cowboy; the statesman who turns himself into a soldier; the soldier who becomes a great hero.
If Teddy had died on the San Juan Heights, and only a single (still rather large) volume was necessary to cover his life, he would have been well worth reading about.
Of course, Teddy did not die on that hill. Instead, he kept climbing, an impossibly restless and ambitious striver, the kind of guy who makes you feel bad about yourself, simply because you’re sitting on a couch reading about him, rather than writing a book, herding some cattle, or fighting a Spaniard to the death.
In
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Edmund Morris did a superb job covering the packed first act of Teddy’s remarkable life. That book ended with his subject lunching in the mountains, watching a messenger approach bearing the news that President William McKinley had died, making him the next President of the United States.
Theodore Rex, the second volume of Morris’s monumental trilogy, picks up right where the first one left off, with Teddy learning that he has just attained one of the rarest – and most important – jobs on earth. Thereafter, Morris covers both of Teddy’s presidential terms, ending with the handoff of power to the epically-sized, though otherwise rather average William Howard Taft.
Though it was not marked by a signature crisis, Roosevelt’s presidency was nevertheless quite full: he got the Panama Canal under way; he kept the Germans and British out of Central America; he brokered peace between Russia and Japan, earning himself the Nobel Peace Prize; he engaged in literal gunboat diplomacy; he dealt with a thorny labor dispute; he busted a few trusts; and he saved great swaths of America from rapacious private developers thinking only of their own profits. His time in office was not as consequential – for obvious reasons – as those of Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt. With that said, Teddy can hardly be faulted for the fact that he was not tested in quite the same fashion as other chief executives. He dealt with the situation that presented itself, and dealt with it rather well.
(The one thing that Teddy did that really stands out for me is the National Park system. There are few things that make me quite as queasy as some guy willing to decimate landforms and landscapes that were hundreds – even thousands – of years in the making, just to line the pockets of his tiny life. If there is a definition of shortsightedness, selfishness, vanity, and egoism, that’s pretty much it. When you go to a place like Yosemite, you will hit your knees and thank god and Theodore Roosevelt for the way Teddy transformed his ideals into policy).
As with the first entry,
Theodore Rex is about as good as a biography can get. For the academic-minded, you can rest assured that Morris’s research is both broad and deep. Despite some occasional flourishes,
Theodore Rex is impeccably sourced, and has wonderfully illuminating endnotes that add a lot to the text (if you aren’t averse to endlessly flipping back and forth). For the literary-minded, the writing is top notch. Morris knows how to tell his story clearly, but he is also able to slip into an evocative prose that brings you into events:
Indistinguishable as the whistle-stops soon became, even to him, each was supreme drama to a little audience that had been looking forward to it for weeks. Some buggy travelers had come one hundred miles to perch on the platform and peer endlessly at the horizon, waiting for a smudge of smoke to signal that “Teddy” was imminent. Then a speck growing in the smoke, a crescendo of wind and wheels, a great locomotive advancing – too fast, surely, to stop? Despair as it indeed keeps moving. Relief when it halts, after all, under the water tank one hundred yards down the track. A general stampede toward the Elysian, where Roosevelt stands grinning in frock coat and vest. He leans over the rail, pumping hands and tousling cowlicks. “Dee-lighted!” Rearing back, he begins to orate, punctuating every sentence with palm-smacks and dental percussion, while his listeners stand mesmerized. The engine bell rings; the train jerks forward. Another grin, and a farewell wave. The Cheshire-cat flash of those teeth float in the sky long after the train is a speck again.
At 555-pages of text (along with the aforementioned 166-pages of annotated endnotes),
Theodore Rex is a good-sized chunk of literature, though quite a bit shorter than its precursor. Morris uses the space well. There were certain areas that I thought deserved a bit more coverage, especially with regard to Teddy’s family life. However, this volume certainly does a better job discussing Teddy’s flaws, especially his checkered handling of race relations. Morris shows how things actually started on a positive note, with Teddy inviting Booker T. Washington to dinner at the White House. By the end of his term, though, Roosevelt dealt both black Americans and his own reputation a heavy blow with his rather shameful handling of the so-called “Brownsville affair,” where black soldiers were dishonorably discharged for allegedly firing shots in the town of Brownsville, despite a complete lack of evidence, and despite their commanders testifying that the men had been in barracks. The amount of time Morris spends on race issues makes it clear that he is no simple apologist.
My only (tiny) criticism of
Theodore Rex – indeed, of Morris’s entire project so far – is that it is an epic with too narrow a scope. It nails Teddy, but not the world in which he lived. To make this point, it’s fair to compare Morris’s excellent project to Robert Caro’s masterful biography of Lyndon Johnson, which is at four books and (hopefully) counting.
For Caro, the context of Johnson – the local, national, and international situation; his allies; his enemies – was as important as Johnson himself. He takes a lot of time fleshing out the stars in Johnson’s orbit, and then using that information to set up the conflicts of Johnson’s life. This makes for a riveting narrative and a broader sense of what’s going on.
Early in
Theodore Rex, I thought that Morris might go in that direction. In a marvelous prologue – perhaps the best part of the entire book – Morris follows Teddy on his train ride from Mount Marcy (where he has learned of McKinley’s shooting) to Buffalo, New York (where McKinley is dying). During this journey, Morris had Teddy looking out a window, and every time he sees something – a coal worker, a black person – he uses it as a segue to describe the state of the union that Roosevelt was about to lead. It might not be strict history, but it is exceptional literature. It is, in a word, Caro-esque.
After this blazing beginning, though, the rest of
Theodore Rex is structured in standard fashion (even if perfectly executed). Morris moves chronologically from one event to the next, keeping close to Teddy, and rarely expanding his view.
Obviously, a biographer cannot bend the sweep of history to make a more interesting story. It is not Morris’s fault that – for instance – one of Teddy’s primary antagonists, Senator Mark Hanna, dies early in the story, prematurely ending a potentially fascinating arc.
By the end of
Theodore Rex, I got the sense that I was reading the final word on Teddy Roosevelt’s life. After a thousand-and-more pages with Teddy, I was just about as close to a long-dead historical figure as possible. It was thus with a bit of trepidation that I reached the final page knowing that soon I would have to leave him.
Rating: really liked it
Theodore Rex is a meticulously researched and beautifully written biography of Theodore Roosevelt and the second book of the trilogy by Pulitzer prize-winning author, Edmund Morris, of one of our more beloved presidents. The book opens with Vice-President Roosevelt being summoned to Buffalo, New York after the assassination attempt and imminent death of President McKinley in September 1901. The book is divided into two parts, each comprising the first and second presidential administrations of Theodore Roosevelt, respectively. The many facts that are contained within these pages are riveting as the President, the youngest man to hold office, brings his progressive values to the White House, promising fairness for all Americans, the breaking of long-held trusts and conglomerates, regulation of railroads and the conservation of America's natural resources being of primary importance as he established national parks, monuments and forests, whether by executive order or through the coaxing and persuasion of Congress. Roosevelt was also committed to the building of the Panama Canal as he dealt with tensions in Cuba and Central America. As his second term is nearing completion, he grooms William Howard Taft as his successor in order to ensure his policies will prevail. One of his signature achievements was the expansion of the United States Navy and sending the Great White Fleet around the world, to culminate their tour in February 1909 as the conclusion of his presidency.
"At Hampton Roads on 22 February, Roosevelt stood for the last time as Commander-in-Chief on the bridge of the 'Mayflower.' . . . 'Here they are,' he eventually shouted, feeling rather than seeing, as the sound of twenty-eight ships' bands playing the 'The Star-Spangled Banner' grew in volume, to the rhythmic crash of cannon. The music, the gunpowder, the echelons of saluting blue jackets: all were for him, and for history."
"'That is the answer to my critics,' he said, his top hat glistening in the wet air. 'Another chapter is complete, and I could not ask a finer concluding scene for my administrations.'"
"Seven years and a hundred and sixty-nine days before, on another lowering evening, he had come along this same track, eager to begin work as the President of the United States. . . . he had been happy then, as he was happy now; happy at the large things he had managed to achieve--a canal, a coal-strike settlement, a peace treaty, a national conservation conference--contented with myriad smaller triumphs. . . . "
"But for millions of contemporary Americans, he was already memorialized in the eighteen national monuments and five national parks he had created by executive order, or cajoled out of Congress. The 'inventory,' as Gifford Pinchot would say, included protected pinnacles, a crater lake, a rain forest and a petrified forest, a wind cave and a jewel cave, cliff dwellings, a cinder cone and skyscraper of hardened magma, sequoia stands, glacier meadows, and the grandest of all canyons."
Rating: really liked it
In Morris’ second volume we are introduced to President Roosevelt. He is a far more seasoned and mature person than the TR described in the first volume. While still given to outbursts and instantaneous action, he displays political astuteness and an ability to balance his impulsiveness with pragmatism. No longer is TR the NY City Police Commissioner who walked the streets making sure cops were on their beats and who alienated so many New Yorkers by zealously enforcing the unpopular and widely disregarded Sunday alcohol laws. Nor is he the Civil Service Commissioner who personally investigated cases of the pervasive corruption of the patronage system without regard for the political consequences he would bear. His hardheaded sense of duty gives way to a nuanced rationality.
The changed TR is captured by newspaperman Henry Herzberg in 1903, “Mr. Roosevelt is bold and fearless yet timid and wary; he is ambitious and striving, but circumspect and cautious. He is imperious in mind, but thoughtful and considerate in action.” By 1906 TR is playing the political game with a style easily recognized today. As Morris points out, “Roosevelt’s by now compulsive habit of following every statement with a counterstatement (positives neutralizing negatives and on the other hand used as a kind if conjunction) muted the overall effect of his speech.”
In foreign policy TR demonstrates a new deftness, forestalling the German and British impending attack on Venezuela and skillfully avoiding conflict with patient diplomacy. This new TR is in stark contrast to the one who a few years earlier was a jingoist Assistant Secretary of the Navy salivating in anticipation of the Spanish American war. While he resorts to forceful intimidation of Columbia to support the Panamanian revolution and secure the Canal Zone in 1903, in stark contrast he grants Cuba its independence in 1902 and settles the Philippine war with amnesty for all combatants. His adroit handling of the Russo-Japanese peace negotiations in 1905 wins him a Noble Peace Prize. His restraint and mediation ability shine in 1906 when he avoids direct involvement in the Tangier crisis and convinces France to hold a peace conference with Germany at Algeciras to resolve a conflict which threatens war in Europe.
In domestic policy TR is similarly adept. He champions breaking up the giant trusts such as Standard Oil and the Northern Securities Company which controls major railroads. He initiates a role for the federal government in regulating railroad rates. He takes on Wall Street carefully never going so far as to permanently alienate this powerful Republican constituency, presenting the argument that if nothing is done, the common people will revolt and put Progressive Democrats in control. He applies the same mediation skill to labor disputes that was effective in foreign disputes, most notably the 1902 anthracite coal miner’s strike that threatens a nation facing a winter without fuel. His political polish is recognized. Writes the
Washington Post in 1906, “…that he has more political acumen in one lobe of his brain than the whole militant tribe of American politicians have in their combined intelligence; that his political perception, so acute as to amount almost to divination, is superior to that of any American statesman of the present or immediate past era.”
As his presidency enters its last years more and more he embraces the growing Progressive movement. He wins passage of the Meat Inspection Act, Pure Food and Drug Act and Railroad Rate Regulation act in 1906. Perhaps his greatest legacy lies in his conservation efforts. His establishment of the many national parks, national monuments and national forest reserves is based on a reverence for nature unique among Washington politicians. His deep love of the wild means he values its salvation so much that he does not flinch in taking on the money interests dominating Washington bent on its destruction for quarterly profits.
His 1907 Message to Congress proposes graduated inheritance and income taxes. His 1908 Special Message to Congress directly attacks corporate greed, “The vast individual and corporate fortunes, the vast combinations of capital which have marked the development of our industrial system, create new conditions, and necessitate a change from the old attitude of the State and the Nation toward the rules regulating the acquisition and untrammeled business use of property.” Even famous muckraking author Upton Sinclair and Democratic Progressive leader William Jennings Bryan approve. In the Message he pushes for and eventually gets meaningful employer liability and workman’s compensation laws. He calls for extending the Interstate Commerce Commission’s authority to financial supervision of railroads. Later he invites Bryan, someone in the past he had ridiculed, to a dinner at the White House and after a long conversation calls him, “a wonderful man”. If TR had wanted a third term he could have easily had it with widespread support despite the strong reservations of Wall Street and the Old Guard.
The foregoing are just a few highlights. Morris covers much, much more. TR is constantly challenged as he crafts new policies to cope with the rapid social, economic and technological change that is quickly transitioning the United States from an insular rural society to an industrial age world power. TR meets the challenge, he not only grows into the job, he continues to grow with the job. While Morris is an excellent writer, all the details can get a bit dry at times. But if one is to truly understand the man and the period, they are all probably necessary. And to understand American history it is important to understand this gifted man and what his remarkable ability to lead meant to America and its future.
Rating: really liked it
The second book in Morris' trilogy—looking forward to the final chapter!
“To live, for him, has no meaning other than to drive oneself, to act with all one’s strength. An existence without stress, without struggle, without growth has always struck him as mindless. Those who remain on the sidelines he sees as cowards, and consequently his personal enemies.”
“Sooner or later, unless there is a readjustment, there will come a riotous, wicked, murderous day of atonement.”
Rating: really liked it
The book is an excellent account of the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Based on this book I can see why he is often rated a top rate president. The book starts at the assassination of President McKinley where Theodore, as McKinley’s vice president, was unexpectedly thrust into the country’s most important job. Theodore justifiably became concerned about being an assassin’s automatic target as the nation’s leader. His father’s hero Abraham Lincoln as well as President James Garfield (who was assassinated in Theodore’s lifetime) and now his immediate boss were slain by an assassin’s bullet. So he increased the president’s security team.
I must say that if there was ever a person who was more qualified to be president, besides Washington, I could not name him. He was classically educated by his wealthy father at an Ivy Leagues school and he had been to many countries including the most remote regions in the world. He was a war hero, as well as an avid reader and successful author. He had been a police commissioner and under secretary of the U.S. Navy. He was unable to be intimidated and he could empathize with the less fortunate.
These skills would come to be tested almost immediately upon his accession into the presidency. In 1902 Anthracite coal miners of North eastern Pennsylvania decided to go on strike due to poor pay and working conditions. The strike threatened to freeze thousands of people, when winter struck, who depended on coal for heat. Theodore met with Coal mine owner George Baer to find a solution and became infuriated with Baer’s pompous attitude. So he handpicked a commission with equal representation of labor and management to determine an agreement. What the miners wanted was a 20% pay raise and an eight hour workday. What they received was a 10% pay raise and a nine hour work day. It was viewed, however, by the public as a significant win for the working class and helped increase the new president’s popularity.
Also, in 1902 an attempt was made to control the country’s railroad system. Some of the country’s wealthiest business men included James Hill, John Rockefeller and JP Morgan consolidated rail road companies under the name of The Northern Securities Company. Amidst a great public outcry Roosevelt sued the large company under the Sherman Anti Trust Act. In 1904, in a close decision, the Supreme Court ruled against Northern Securities and in support of President Roosevelt. The Northern Securities Company was therefore dissolved. And Roosevelt’s popularity amongst the general public swelled.
In 1903 he became frustrated with Columbia’s delaying tactics regarding the building of the Panama Canal. At the time Panama was an isthmus owned by Columbia. So he supported a Panamanian separatist movement by sending warships to block the only Columbian military entrance route into Panama ensuring the separatists success. The U.S. quickly recognized the independent Panama and construction of the canal began shortly afterwards.
In 1905 Roosevelt mediated the ending of the Russo-Japanese War with such satisfaction for both sides that he was given a Nobel Peace prize. In 1906 he commissioned an investigation of the meat packing industry somewhat in response to Upton Sinclair’s book “The Jungle.” He sent two men that he trusted to do surprise inspections of the Chicago meat packing industry. They reported back to him that the conditions of the plants were as bad as Sinclair’s book had stated. Out of this report came two important consumer acts - The Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food Act.
He authorized the building of 11 Navy battleships. When he left office America had gone from a small Navy to the second largest in the world just behind England.
He signed into the law the establishment of more than twenty national parks and monuments. He also appointed three Supreme Court justices and welcomed Oklahoma as the 46th state of the Union in 1907. He also negotiated with the Japanese government to control Japanese immigration into the Golden State. At the same time, he protected the Japanese American community by banning Japanese-American segregation in California schools.
In addition to his accomplishments he was an excellent campaigner and a manipulator of the press garnering much positive press. He was quoted as saying that he loved being the president. And by all accounts he seemed to really enjoy every aspect that goes with being a politician.
He gracefully left the office in 1909 being fully confident that his preferred successor William Howard Taft would continue his progressive policies. He left office as one of the most popular presidents to ever serve. But with tons of energy and ambition he retired to private life planning his next adventure - a great African safari hunt.
Rating: really liked it
New York City recently removed a statue of Thomas Jefferson from their city hall. Now a statue of Theodore Roosevelt will be removed from the Museum of Natural History and moved to North Dakota.
Erasing American history from public view.
Rating: really liked it
Theodore Rex is the second volume of Edmund Morris’ trilogy on the life of Theodore Roosevelt. While some might ask why a three-volume biography of Teddy is needed, it seems clear that this outsized life demanded it. Roosevelt has been remembered as one of the most colorful American personalities who ever lived. Of course, Roosevelt's biographers have stressed his personality; but there is so much more. Roosevelt had a lifelong interest in pursuing what he called "the strenuous life". He lived life to its full. The second volume covers the time of Roosevelt’s two terms as President (the first starting with McKinley’s assassination). While this may be the least exciting period of his life from the reader’s point of view, it should be pointed out that historians have credited Roosevelt with being the architect of the modern presidency, permanently placing the presidency at center stage and reshaping the office to meet the needs of the new century. As a world leader, he boldly redefined America's place in the world.
His accomplishments during his seven-plus years as President include trust busting and regulation, ending the anthracite coal strike, prosecuting corruption, establishment of the Interstate Commerce Commission, working toward safe food and drugs, conservation, building the Panama Canal, and resolving the Russo-Japanese War. He single-handedly put the environment on the national agenda. Historians typically rank Roosevelt among the top five presidents.
Edmund Morris was an exceptional historian. His first book, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the 1980 National Book Award for biography. While Theodore Rex is very detailed, the book is light on analysis. Morris argued that Roosevelt was so self-explanatory as to preclude any authorial intrusion into the narrative. In the end, Morris produced a brilliant book that captures Roosevelt’s many sides.
Rating: really liked it
Unlike other presidents, I decided to read a multi-volume biography of Theodore Roosevelt because he seemed like one of America's most interesting presidents. I can now say confidently that he is THE most interesting president America has ever had. Sui generis (unique). "Theodore Rex" is every bit as good as "The Rise of T.R." The chief difference is that "The Rise" covers a much more exciting period of Teddy's life. Morris rediscovers the Roosevelt family, who largely went missing in the last third of his first volume. After disappearing as a toddler in "The Rise," Alice reappears as a 17-year-old ready to become the most interesting first daughter America has ever had. Making an appearance for the first time are T.R.'s right-hand men, William Loeb (who we learn had already been serving Teddy for three years) and later Archibald Butt.
The 22 years between Morris's volumes did not lessen his penchant for using obscure words (my favorite- "macrocephalic"), Latin, (Morris's favorite- "de ipse") and foreign words (M's favorite- du roi). The one that bothered me the most was "Nipponese." I have read countless books on Japan, but I have never seen that word used to refer to Japanese. Nevertheless, dictionary dives are a small price to pay for such beautiful prose. Morris has few equals when it comes to painting a scene. The footnotes are just as copious, but less crucial than the previous volume. Sadly, they have been reformatted in such a way as to make it more difficult to link them to the text referred to.
I have not made plans to read Morris's final volume ("Colonel Roosevelt"). After finishing my basic survey of America's most important presidents, I plan to read "River of Doubt" and then "Alice."
Rating: really liked it
Theodore Roosevelt – what a guy!!! A whirlwind . A remarkable individual
way, way, way ahead of his time. I recommend reading this book to those of you interested in all the details of his presidency AND to those of you who like reading about exceptional human beings. I cannot think of any other person at all similar. You must of course start with the first book of the trilogy: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. This is the second, and I am off to read the third: Colonel Roosevelt. I know they are long, but they are worth it.
Should I list some of the remarkable things Theodore achieved during his presidency? Is that what you want to know? The Panama Canal, the Pennsylvanian coal strike settlement, negotiations to end the Russo-Japanese War and the Moroccan Crisis of 1906 for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize, the National Conservation Conference and anti-trust legislation, to name but a few. By reading the book you will understand the magnitude of each accomplishment. You will understand how he pulled off these accomplishments and why he chose to do what he did. Who is Theodore Roosevelt? How did his mind tick? Was he brave? Was he moral? Was he impetuous? Yes, yes, yes! Did he make mistakes? Of course! Perhaps Brownsville was one. Read and judge for yourself.
Please read this book. You will be astounded by the exuberance of this man, by his intelligence and his morals. More than just discovering what he did you will discover how this man was under the surface. He is complicated. How could he be both a hunter and a conservationist? How did he balance might versus right, wealth versus labor’s demands? I cannot adequately explain how he looks on African-Americans. I’d have to write a book to explain this accurately, but that is not necessary since you have this book. You end up understanding not only what he did but who he was. Now, in the final book Theodore is off on a safari to Eastern Africa. I will be accompanying him and his son Kermit. What a guy! I don’t want to leave him.
I think this book isn’t quite as good as the first. I wanted to know more about his familial relationships, about his wife and children. There is a bit, but not enough. Maybe that is not the author’s fault. There is little information. Edith was reserved. Letters were destroyed. Privacy was kept. Or maybe I will get this in the next volume? I know that the narration by Nathan Marosz really made it difficult at times to pay attention to the words being read. His voice has a terrible sing-song lilt. He drew out in length the final words of a sentence. Then he pauses; it sounds terribly condescending! In any case the narration is completely inappropriate for Theodore who is known to have bitten off his words, spitting them out in a sharp staccato manner. Marosz mispronounces not only French, but German and even English words too. As you follow the amusing lines of the author, you can hardly appreciate the humor, the narration is so distracting. OK, Marosz did have me laughing, not at the author’s lines, but at the bizarre mispronunciations. Wait till you hear how he says the words liqueur, and Steiff (the stuffed teddy bears) and Slav. There was one French name that I was totally incapable of deciphering. Thankfully, both the first and the third books of the trilogy use the narrator Mark Deakins, and he does a magnificent job. Many times lines were read twice, but this, of course, is not the narrator’s fault. I kind of think it was the narration that made it so impossible for me to really enjoy this book as I should have, but at times I did feel just a little bit bored. My advice? If you cannot get the second volume narrated by Mark Deakins, read the paper book instead! You simply cannot hop over any of the books. They should be read together.
Rating: really liked it
This is the second book in Edmund Morris' three-book series on Roosevelt, and while the first one won the Pulitzer Prize and gets all the accolades, I found this one to be more enjoyable and considerably more fascinating.
You get to charge through the first decade of the 20th century right next to the most exciting president we've ever had. Morris illuminates big events (Panamanian independence, war between Russia and Japan) while painting you a picture of what American life and government then was like (his explanation of how State of the Union addresses worked was incredible).
Looking forward to book three.
Rating: really liked it
Ol' Teddy Roosevelt. One of two Republicans that it is okay for liberals to like (the other is Abraham Lincoln of course. Who did you think I was talking about? Rutherford B. Hayes?)
I've always liked this guy because of the snippets of history you hear about him: "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Big game hunter. Conservationist. Great public speaker. Teddy Bear.
I feel like I've grown up listening to his "Greatest Hits" and this is the first time I've actually sat down to listen to all of his albums, in context. (Yeah, I don't know where I'm going with this metaphor either.)
An interesting read. To be sure, his foreign achievements seem quite impressive. He personally negotiated several volatile situations in Central America and Japan that no modern day President would ever DREAM of attempting. He rolled the dice big several times and won big, most notably in securing the Panama Canal. However, I believe it was these successes during his presidency that led to his overconfidence (hubris?) that ultimately tarnished his legacy later in life, but that'll be covered in the next book.
His biggest domestic policy contribution was is environmental conservation. It is so funny that he was the first President to ever promote conservation and that if he did that in the modern day Republican party he would be crucified as a commie-liberal-pinko. He shoved several pieces of conservation legislation and executive orders that had long ranging effects on our country. Clearly he had a big impact with this, I mean, his face is carved into a mountain for crying out loud.
The Teddy Roosevelt in this book is the one we remember but he had many miles to go before he slept. This is all covered in the next volume, "Colonel Roosevelt" which I plan on reading ASAP.
A decent read but too short and not enough detail for my taste. In that regard, it reminded me of "Truman" by David McCullough. After this book you'll know all of the facts but not necessarily know the man.
Rating: really liked it
This, the middle book of a three book trilogy, is focused solely on Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. The book is exellent. Richly detailed in all that happened during his presidency. The book captures more than a presidency but also the man himself, his energy, his faults and his strengths. Paired with the first book, this makes a wonderful duology. However, if you are just looking to read about his presidency, this is book can just be read on its own.
Rating: really liked it
A brilliant biography. IT is hard to separate my love of Morris' second Roosevelt biography from my love of TR. The book captures the dynamo-President's force, eccentricities, and political skill while also accurately capturing the politics of the time and the rise of America's global power. Occasionally, a person enters the global stage with such energy, power, competence and audacity that it seems the earth moves for them and water separates. I can only think of a couple other leaders that capture the Nietzsche' Übermensch ideal (Napoleon, Fredrick the Great, Alexander, Caesar, etc) as well. Even when Teddy wasn't super, he was still super lucky.
Rating: really liked it
The second installment of Edmund Morris's biographical trilogy of Theodore Roosevelt. Densely written, well researched and with excellent research notes
Theodore Rex is a
serious piece of political biography. I'm not a slow reader, but I took my time goingg through this one.
Political biographies can be challenging for me. All the in-fighting and maneuvering can be tedious at times, but also fascinating. It just isn't fast reading for me. In some respects the book is rather old-fashioned in it's writing style and layout, but I found it refreshing for this very reason. This is a book meant to be read a few chapters at a time. Not something you blow through while waiting at the doctor's office or on the family Christmas visit. Morris didn't write a book for the smartphone and twitter crowd (I'm very aware that I'm using social media/technology to post this review).
There is nothing brief or vapid in this book. There are detailed accounts of politics, Roosevelt's 1904 presidential campaign, foreign affairs and ,of course, the Roosevelt clan. Of the three books "Theodore Rex" covers the shortest span of time - a mere eight years. This is Roosevelt at his peak both professionally and physically. There are hints (actually more than just hints) of what the future holds in store for Theodore's health, but those troubles are still in the future. The Roosevelt children are just that and the many issues that would bedevil them are not an issue in this installment. It's the Roosevelt Golden Age.
If you're interested in Theodore Roosevelt and the Ragtime era I recommend this book. Actually the entire trilogy which I'm reading backwards from the end to the beginning. Why? Just because. I recommend the trilogy as companion piece for Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets off a Struggle for the Soul of America, Ragtime,An American Tragedyand The Jungle. The works are fiction and non-fiction and were written during different decades over the past 110 years (approximately), but together they can give you a very interesting look at America when the nineteenth century became the twentieth.
Rating: really liked it
Three and a half stars. One has to have almost as much energy as Teddy himself to get through this massive history of Roosevelt's presidency. I did not enjoy it anywhere near as much as Morris's earlier book, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Rex was too often a rather dry chronology with little context or analysis of Roosevelt's place in history. Still....Bully for Teddy! He was a giant.
