Theodore Roosevelt on Books and Reading

by Mark I West

President Theodore Roosevelt had a passion for reading books, and he did not keep this passion to himself. He often wrote about his experiences as a reader and collector of books. He wrote scholarly essays about literature and literary history. He often wrote book reviews for such publications as The Atlantic Monthly, The Bookman, The Outlook, and The New York Times Review of Books. Roosevelt’s writings about books are worth reading for their own sake, for in these pieces he provided critical insights into influential books. His writings about books, however, are also important because they show how Roosevelt responded to the books that he read. Roosevelt’s reading influenced his thinking on the many topics that interested him, so these writings provide researchers with a better understanding of the role that books played in the formation of his ideas, attitudes, and political positions.



Theodore Roosevelt on Books and Reading brings together for the first time Roosevelt’s writings about his experiences as a reader, his scholarly essays about literature and literary history, and his exuberant reviews of some of the books that he especially liked. A sister volume to Mark I. West’s Theodore Roosevelt and His Library at Sagamore Hill, this new volume features Roosevelt’s own responses to many of the books in his personal library. All of the selections in this volume reflect Roosevelt’s passion for reading. These selections will resonate with anyone who shares Roosevelt’s love of books.

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2023

Reviews

[Tim Deforest · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter how voracious a reader you may be, reading about the sheer volume of both reading and writing that Theodore Roosevelt accomplished in his life will make you feel inadequate.

This volume contains essays, a speech and excerpts of Roosevelt's autobiography that give his views on books and reading. There's a chapter on the books he read as a child that helped give him a love of reading. An introduction he wrote to a book on American literature and a speech he gave on "Nationalism in Art and Literature" both discuss the importance of a country developing its own distinctive voice in these fields.

There is, no surprisingly, an essay about the best books on big game hunting. Even if you are not yourself a hunter, its so well-written and interesting that you'll find it worthwhile anyways.

He uses a review praising Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power upon History" to argue that the United States needs to expand its own (at the time) small navy. Perhaps the most entertaining essay in titled "The Books That I Have Read and How I Do My Reading," which is guarenteed to add some titles to your own To Be Read list.

It's worthwhile reading anything T.R. wrote because of his clear, erudite style, but anyone who enjoys reading will find something to enjoy in this book.