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4.44 AVERAGE
4.44 AVERAGE
Hands down one of the best Presidential biographies I've ever read.
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
Very thorough, interesting, and well written. As a matter of personal opinion, could be a bit dry and slow at times. Overall an excellent biography of an interesting man.
Teddy was so deeply cool. None of his childhood could happen today. Amateur taxidermist! Seriously.
Honestly, this didn't feel terribly long (at 1.5 speed) but it did get quite boring at the end. I agree with other readers that the first half is better, before it gets too political. Roosevelt was one of those men with a very unique personality. He knew what he wanted and he got it. He did not have any people pleasing issues, see simply stood up for what he thought was right. Although he was an unbeliever I think we can still learn from his confidence.
His life definitely had a myriad of hardships which he confidently tackled, just like any part of his life. This led him to very uncompassionate towards others who were suffering.
What was really sad was how little time he spent with his family, or maybe this book just left out those details. But it seemed like his biggest passion was politics and he only occasionally visited his family.
Overall, not terrible, but a little dry and political for my tastes.
At 780 pages, this isn't anything for the faint of heart or casual Teddy fan. But I am neither. And though it is long and detailed, it actually reads fairly quickly.
Richly detailed with plenty of humor thrown in, I am now a much bigger fan of Roosevelt. I knew the barest outlines of his life pre-president (this book is exclusively about his life before he became president in 1901), but I am struck again by his energy. In some ways, reading about Teddy is just exhausting, but in a good way.
At times, I would have liked a bit more context and also more about his family. Once he marries Edith, they kinda fade to the background.
Highly recommended--and a great choice for the long days of summer reading.
Richly detailed with plenty of humor thrown in, I am now a much bigger fan of Roosevelt. I knew the barest outlines of his life pre-president (this book is exclusively about his life before he became president in 1901), but I am struck again by his energy. In some ways, reading about Teddy is just exhausting, but in a good way.
At times, I would have liked a bit more context and also more about his family. Once he marries Edith, they kinda fade to the background.
Highly recommended--and a great choice for the long days of summer reading.
I have read a lot of literature on T.R. due to an independent study while I was at Tufts and this was my favorite biography of the many about him. I liked it better than Theodore Rex, which deals with his actual presidency. This really gave you a fairly complete picture of the man, and why he was the way he was. Morris clearly adores T.R. and you can see the admiration throughout the book, but I don't think it results in a one-sided account. Heavy reliance on the words of the man himself, via letters, etc.
I have long admired the ethos of Theodore Roosevelt, but it was admittedly largely through secondhand stories or the oft-taught tale of his machismo - akin to an intellectual and political Hemingway of sorts. Given to me as a graduation gift from university years ago, I finally decided to sink my teeth into the true story of Roosevelt, albeit it in audiobook form.
Without belaboring the point, it is difficult to explain just how wonderfully Morris captures the Rooseveltian spirit, from childhood to vice presidency, in a single tome. The verbatim excerpts from letters, journals, and interviews vividly (and authentically) capture a personality now longed-for in the modern era.
Needless to say, I will be eagerly continuing with Morris's Theodore Rex.
As an aside - the narrator, Mark Deakins, brought the text to life, and I highly recommend his version of the audiobook (on Audible).
Without belaboring the point, it is difficult to explain just how wonderfully Morris captures the Rooseveltian spirit, from childhood to vice presidency, in a single tome. The verbatim excerpts from letters, journals, and interviews vividly (and authentically) capture a personality now longed-for in the modern era.
Needless to say, I will be eagerly continuing with Morris's Theodore Rex.
As an aside - the narrator, Mark Deakins, brought the text to life, and I highly recommend his version of the audiobook (on Audible).
This book is like history from the best kind of teacher: rich with story; full of people well-rounded with strengths and weaknesses, pains and triumphs, dreams and insecurities. I have learned so much reading this, and now find myself with a peculiar affection for Theodore Roosevelt. Thoroughly researched and so well done!
This is a great book. Morris' writing style is great, very effortless read. He really brings TR alive and presents a great picture of his times, as well.