T.R.

Starred review from November 3, 1997
At 35, after failing at cattle ranching in the Dakotas and a career lagging in Washington in minor political office, Roosevelt (1858-1919) was offered an appointment by the mayor of New York City as commissioner of street cleaning. "If the job had had a more illustrious title," speculates Brands (Reckless Decade), "he might have accepted it. As it was, he nearly did." A few years later--with no military experience--he was second in command of a volunteer cowboy cavalry unit in Cuba, "The Rough Riders"; then governor of New York; McKinley's vice president; and, after a fortuitous assassination, U.S. president in 1901. The myopic, asthmatic, restless Roosevelt, with little but family connections and modest financial independence, as well as a bit of luck, had brazened his way to the White House. Although Edmund Morris (in 1979) and David McCullough (1981) have produced acclaimed biographies, neither was followed up by a life of T.R. at the top. Brands's narrative is lucid, fast-moving and unblinded by hero worship. In a single volume he has packed Roosevelt's 60 years of ambition, adventure, expediency, achievement and, finally, frustration at having peaked too soon. According to Brands, T.R. is more a romantic in his capacity for self-delusion than in his self-image as romantic hero, with rectitude as his ideal and a stableful of political and financial bosses as villains. As one Roosevelt watcher observed, "You had to hate the Colonel a whole lot to keep from loving him."

November 15, 1997
Prolific Texas A&M historian Brands (Reckless Decade, LJ 11/15/95) makes his first venture into biography with this lengthy book on Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt's often tragic life--his first wife and mother died the same day under the same roof--is fully explored. Brands ignores neither the personal nor the political side of his subject, depicting Roosevelt as a romantic during his idyllic childhood; his grieving over the early death of his wife, Alice; the war in 1898; and his governorship and presidency. But as America's romantic era ended abruptly on the battlefields of France in 1918, Roosevelt's life ended as well. Brands uses Roosevelt's many personal letters to tell his story in a firsthand manner, resulting in the most comprehensive Roosevelt biography yet. As the centennial of the Spanish American War approaches, Roosevelt is once again in the news, and this excellent biography may well get its share of attention--and awards. Highly recommended for all libraries.--Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Libs., Ala.

October 15, 1997
In an appropriately big book about a big president, Brands brings the life of one of the foremost U.S. presidents to the well-deserved attention of general readers. The author's solid research and fluid writing take the reader into a fascinating life that began with a sickly and pampered childhood. From that experience, Roosevelt grew up "with manliness on the mind," bearing a "preoccupation with heroism and physical bravery." And was his obsession with war the result of his father's failure to serve in the Civil War, as Teddy's sister insisted? Well into manhood, Roosevelt's need to prove himself physically reached extreme lengths; no wonder that when he became president, he advocated the use of the office as "the bully pulpit." He was drawn to politics as if born to it, and no one could dispute he was indeed born to be president. He relished the power, and transformed the position into one of greater influence than it possessed when bequeathed to him. ((Reviewed October 15, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)