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4.44 AVERAGE
4.44 AVERAGE
Short Review: This really is good. It is more of a 4.5 star book than 4, but not quite a 5. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is very readable. It runs from his birth until the assassination of McKinley. There are two more books to round out the trilogy of biographies.
I was surprised when I looked it up to see that this biography is nearly 40 years old. It does not feel at all dated.
Roosevelt is a fascinating character, although with full of blind spots and quite self centered. But also with enormous reserves of energy and drive.
The two main weaknesses in the biography was, especially in the younger years, to be a bit too cute about what Roosevelt would become. We are reading about him at the end of his life knowing what he would become and that feels like it too strongly influenced how the discussion of how he grew up and developed.
Second, this may be about the era the book was written, but while there is a lot of discussion about Roosevelt's personal morality and ethics, there was virtually no discussion about religious or other motivations about where that morality and ethics were derived from and why it was important to him. The only reference I can think of to Roosevelt's specific religious life was a reference to him being married in a Unitarian church and that he was a sunday school teacher for a while. But I have no idea whether he was a unitarian or a more orthodox Christian or if faith was even important to him.
Maybe his religious motivation and ethics were actually unimportant, but the it feels like knowing more about that would have given some insights into his blind spots. (He was for instance relatively progressive on issues of women's rights and rights for african americans but not for Native Americans until later in life and not for non-Americans, for instance the Cubans that he was relating to during the Spanish American war.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/theodore-roosevelt/
I was surprised when I looked it up to see that this biography is nearly 40 years old. It does not feel at all dated.
Roosevelt is a fascinating character, although with full of blind spots and quite self centered. But also with enormous reserves of energy and drive.
The two main weaknesses in the biography was, especially in the younger years, to be a bit too cute about what Roosevelt would become. We are reading about him at the end of his life knowing what he would become and that feels like it too strongly influenced how the discussion of how he grew up and developed.
Second, this may be about the era the book was written, but while there is a lot of discussion about Roosevelt's personal morality and ethics, there was virtually no discussion about religious or other motivations about where that morality and ethics were derived from and why it was important to him. The only reference I can think of to Roosevelt's specific religious life was a reference to him being married in a Unitarian church and that he was a sunday school teacher for a while. But I have no idea whether he was a unitarian or a more orthodox Christian or if faith was even important to him.
Maybe his religious motivation and ethics were actually unimportant, but the it feels like knowing more about that would have given some insights into his blind spots. (He was for instance relatively progressive on issues of women's rights and rights for african americans but not for Native Americans until later in life and not for non-Americans, for instance the Cubans that he was relating to during the Spanish American war.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/theodore-roosevelt/
One of the best presidential biographies ever written
I love biographies,and I don't disagree with the pulitzer committee on this one, it's good.
I loved this book. Very good read. Highly recommend it.
Great overview of TR’s life and rise to Presidency. Truly excellent biographical work wing wonderful narrative and lots of depth.
This was probably the most detailed thoroughly researched historical biography that I have ever read. I really enjoyed it. Teddy was such a fascinating man and Morris was perfectly able to capture that. I look forward to reading the next two books.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
I just listened to a 25 hour biography of Theodore Roosevelt and he isn’t even president yet. You would think that would make this book tedious. This is one of the most well-written and interesting books I have ever read. I will for sure be reading the next two books in this series.
I already reviewed this one but through a complicated set of circumstances seem to have done so on Cindy's account. Still not sure how that happened... but here is was:
Technically I'm still in the midst of this 800-pager, but it's going to have to go incredibly wrong to unstar itself. Good history is only good history if it's well told, and this is that.
Just shared the role of Teddy with 3 other people in a play. Idon't see any other way it could be done - not schizophrenia, just level of activity.
(I don't like to go partisan in a book review, but while I fully understand Sen. McCain's hero worship of TR, you sir, to paraphrase a line from another campaign, are no Theodore Roosevelt.)
His 150th Birthday is Monday, Oct. 27, by the way. (Roosevelt's, I mean.) Celebrate! Read an entire book and then write one! Fell a bear then preserve thousands of acres of forest! Spar with a prizefighter during your lunch hour! And you have to do all of these things, not just one of them.
Technically I'm still in the midst of this 800-pager, but it's going to have to go incredibly wrong to unstar itself. Good history is only good history if it's well told, and this is that.
Just shared the role of Teddy with 3 other people in a play. Idon't see any other way it could be done - not schizophrenia, just level of activity.
(I don't like to go partisan in a book review, but while I fully understand Sen. McCain's hero worship of TR, you sir, to paraphrase a line from another campaign, are no Theodore Roosevelt.)
His 150th Birthday is Monday, Oct. 27, by the way. (Roosevelt's, I mean.) Celebrate! Read an entire book and then write one! Fell a bear then preserve thousands of acres of forest! Spar with a prizefighter during your lunch hour! And you have to do all of these things, not just one of them.