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The Other Teddy Roosevelts
Theodore president, naturalist, explorer, author, cowboy, police commissioner, deputy marshal, soldier, taxidermist, ornithologist, and boxer. Everyone knows about that.
But how about vampire hunter?
Or African king?
Or Jack the Ripper's nemesis?
Or World War I doughboy?
Mike Resnick (the most-awarded short story writer in science fiction history, according to Locus) has been the biographer of these other Teddy Roosevelts for almost two decades. Here you will find a familiar Roosevelt, but in unfamiliar surroundings stalking a vampire through the streets of New York, or a crazed killer down the back alleys of Whitechapel, coming face-to-face with the devastation of 20th Century warfare, waging an early battle for women's suffrage, applying all his skills to bring American democracy to the untamed African wilderness, or coming face-to-face with one of H. G. Wells' Martian invaders in the swamps of Cuba.
And, as Winston Churchill said of the Arthurian legends, if these stories aren't true, then they should have been.
Enjoy.
But how about vampire hunter?
Or African king?
Or Jack the Ripper's nemesis?
Or World War I doughboy?
Mike Resnick (the most-awarded short story writer in science fiction history, according to Locus) has been the biographer of these other Teddy Roosevelts for almost two decades. Here you will find a familiar Roosevelt, but in unfamiliar surroundings stalking a vampire through the streets of New York, or a crazed killer down the back alleys of Whitechapel, coming face-to-face with the devastation of 20th Century warfare, waging an early battle for women's suffrage, applying all his skills to bring American democracy to the untamed African wilderness, or coming face-to-face with one of H. G. Wells' Martian invaders in the swamps of Cuba.
And, as Winston Churchill said of the Arthurian legends, if these stories aren't true, then they should have been.
Enjoy.
204 pages, Hardcover
First published January 28, 2008
4 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Mike Resnick
812 books551 followersMichael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 5, 2018
Real Rating: 3.5* of five
Not bad. If you've read any SFnal anthology since the middle 1980s (earlier, actually, but I'm too lazy to go look up his first appearance in print) you've read some Resnick. I'm no big fan of his pedestrian writing, but I'm a BIG fan of TR.
Red Whitechapel puts TR at the centre (cause it's in Lunnon I misspelled center, see?) of the Jack the Ripper hunt. Resnick even says he wrote this to get some attention for a theory he proposed in a non-fiction article published in the 1970s regarding his (quite plausible and eminently sensible) idea of who and what the real Ripper was. Wasn't much impressed by the fictionalization. 3 stars
Two Hunters in Manhattan was a real eye-roller, TR making the acquaintance of an ancient Greek vampire who, inexplicably, pays no slightest attention to TR's request for assistance in specific ways but instead whimsically decides to do it his own way. Who knows, maybe that comes with having blues eyes, black hair. 2 stars
The Roosevelt Dispatches puts Teddy in Cuba and has has him meet the Martians from Wells' The War of the Worlds. Okay. 3 stars
Bully! got the otherwhen versions of TR rolling in Resnick's creative world. Nominated for the big awards when it first appeared in 1991. I enjoyed this one. 3.5 stars
The Bull Moose at Bay is the most intriguing story to me...how TR got to where he is at the beginning of the tale is deeply satisfying, the place where the tale takes off is spot-on, and the ending is also satisfying. My quibble is why be coy about the identities of the birthday party guests? Still, hands-down my favorite. 4 stars
Over There was depressing and unlikely. TR was too full fledged a politician to fall for what happened to him; the ending was inevitable and seen clearly from the beginning. 2 stars
The Light that Blinds, the Claws that Catch is unmemorable and uninteresting. 3 stars because it's competently written.
Not bad. If you've read any SFnal anthology since the middle 1980s (earlier, actually, but I'm too lazy to go look up his first appearance in print) you've read some Resnick. I'm no big fan of his pedestrian writing, but I'm a BIG fan of TR.
Red Whitechapel puts TR at the centre (cause it's in Lunnon I misspelled center, see?) of the Jack the Ripper hunt. Resnick even says he wrote this to get some attention for a theory he proposed in a non-fiction article published in the 1970s regarding his (quite plausible and eminently sensible) idea of who and what the real Ripper was. Wasn't much impressed by the fictionalization. 3 stars
Two Hunters in Manhattan was a real eye-roller, TR making the acquaintance of an ancient Greek vampire who, inexplicably, pays no slightest attention to TR's request for assistance in specific ways but instead whimsically decides to do it his own way. Who knows, maybe that comes with having blues eyes, black hair. 2 stars
The Roosevelt Dispatches puts Teddy in Cuba and has has him meet the Martians from Wells' The War of the Worlds. Okay. 3 stars
Bully! got the otherwhen versions of TR rolling in Resnick's creative world. Nominated for the big awards when it first appeared in 1991. I enjoyed this one. 3.5 stars
The Bull Moose at Bay is the most intriguing story to me...how TR got to where he is at the beginning of the tale is deeply satisfying, the place where the tale takes off is spot-on, and the ending is also satisfying. My quibble is why be coy about the identities of the birthday party guests? Still, hands-down my favorite. 4 stars
Over There was depressing and unlikely. TR was too full fledged a politician to fall for what happened to him; the ending was inevitable and seen clearly from the beginning. 2 stars
The Light that Blinds, the Claws that Catch is unmemorable and uninteresting. 3 stars because it's competently written.
October 25, 2017
Sometimes you don't want to learn the secrets of the universe or why people behave in the strange ways that they do. Sometimes you just want to switch off and get a little entertainment.
When I have those times, Mike Resnick is always a good place to turn. The man is a beast in the world of Sci-fi and Fantasy. I can think of few other people who can churn stories out in the quantity that he does.
As for this book - it was entertaining. I like the different ideas he has about possible Roosevelts and the adventures they could have had.
When I have those times, Mike Resnick is always a good place to turn. The man is a beast in the world of Sci-fi and Fantasy. I can think of few other people who can churn stories out in the quantity that he does.
As for this book - it was entertaining. I like the different ideas he has about possible Roosevelts and the adventures they could have had.
July 13, 2016
I use Teddy Roosevelt as a character in my own forthcoming series, so I had several friends advise me to read Resnick's collection of alternate history Teddy Roosevelt stories. The book was a shorter read than I expected at about 200 pages, but the stories were thoroughly enjoyable.
Resnick twists history at various points in TR's life, such as enabling his first wife, Alice, to survive; or adding a vampire as a complication to TR's time as a New York City police commissioner; or attempting to democratize central Africa while on his famous post-presidency safari. Across the stories, I really appreciated how Resnick showed the contradictory nature of TR. I say that, having read thousands of pages of research on the man. Roosevelt worked to create an American empire abroad, and believed in the holiness of that action; he was also a progressive who offended wide swaths of the Republican party because of his fervent beliefs in equality for black and native peoples and for women to have the vote. He was a brilliant, arrogant, and very complicated man, and Resnick really does justice to a historical figure of incredible charismatic and political power.
Resnick twists history at various points in TR's life, such as enabling his first wife, Alice, to survive; or adding a vampire as a complication to TR's time as a New York City police commissioner; or attempting to democratize central Africa while on his famous post-presidency safari. Across the stories, I really appreciated how Resnick showed the contradictory nature of TR. I say that, having read thousands of pages of research on the man. Roosevelt worked to create an American empire abroad, and believed in the holiness of that action; he was also a progressive who offended wide swaths of the Republican party because of his fervent beliefs in equality for black and native peoples and for women to have the vote. He was a brilliant, arrogant, and very complicated man, and Resnick really does justice to a historical figure of incredible charismatic and political power.
September 20, 2008
This was fun. Seven alternate history stories feature Theodore Roosevelt - a person who was larger than fiction anyway! Probably best for those with a fascination for Roosevelt.
January 27, 2013
Theodore Roosevelt was an amazing man. He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements. His resume reads: President of the United States, naturalist, explorer, cowboy, hunter, author, soldier, vampire hunter, detective and filibuster. OK, maybe I made those last three careers up. To find those Roosevelts you need to read The Other Teddy Roosevelts by Mike Resnick.
The Other Teddy Roosevelts is a collection of short stories Resnick wrote over his career, each starring the former American president. You can tell that Resnick is enamored by Roosevelt. The beginning and end of the anthology is given to OTL information about Roosevelt, including many quotes and factoids about this larger than life American politician. Nevertheless, Resnick makes a relevant point about Roosevelt: he may be a real person, but his life reads like an old sci-fi pulp action hero.
All of the stories are arranged chronologically and one can almost believe that they are all set in the same alternate universe, until they read some of the stories set near the end of Roosevelt's life. While all of the stories are alternate history, many are borderline and others fail to give the reader a complete picture of the alternate universe. Probably the best example of alternate history in the anthology is "Bully!", where the point of divergence happens when Roosevelt takes up the OTL offer to seize the Congo from the Belgians with only 50 men to back him up. Although successful at first, Roosevelt soon runs into the problem of convincing the natives that American democracy is more preferable than their traditional tribal ways.
Other tales include "The Bull Moose at Bay" (Roosevelt won the 1912 election), "The Light That Blinds, the Claws That Catch" (Roosevelt's first wife Alice does not die in 1884) and "Over There" (Roosevelt reforms the Rough Riders to fight in World War I). While all alternate histories, the stories do not expand past the point of divergence and tease you about how the world is different. For example in "The Bull Moose at Bay" we are told that Roosevelt managed to prevent what would have been World War I from lasting longer than a year. How exactly did he manage that accomplishment without the help of a combat-ready squadron of alien space bats at his command?
Nevertheless, that does not ruin the stories or take away from the fact that Theodore Roosevelt was truly a remarkable man. It is a shame that American history classes pass over his accomplishments, usually only focusing on his charge up San Juan Hill, the Great White Fleet, the Panama Canal and his famous slogan "speak softly and carry a big stick". I personally had to do my own research to truly appreciate his accomplishment. I recommend Edmund Morris' The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt for anyone who wants to start learning more about one of the greatest American presidents the United States ever had.
In conclusion, though light on actual alternate history, this anthology of short stories on Theodore Roosevelt was an excellent read for those knowledgeable or ignorant of Theodore Roosevelt's life. He truly was a real-life action hero and Resnick's stories manage to capture that perfectly.
The Other Teddy Roosevelts is a collection of short stories Resnick wrote over his career, each starring the former American president. You can tell that Resnick is enamored by Roosevelt. The beginning and end of the anthology is given to OTL information about Roosevelt, including many quotes and factoids about this larger than life American politician. Nevertheless, Resnick makes a relevant point about Roosevelt: he may be a real person, but his life reads like an old sci-fi pulp action hero.
All of the stories are arranged chronologically and one can almost believe that they are all set in the same alternate universe, until they read some of the stories set near the end of Roosevelt's life. While all of the stories are alternate history, many are borderline and others fail to give the reader a complete picture of the alternate universe. Probably the best example of alternate history in the anthology is "Bully!", where the point of divergence happens when Roosevelt takes up the OTL offer to seize the Congo from the Belgians with only 50 men to back him up. Although successful at first, Roosevelt soon runs into the problem of convincing the natives that American democracy is more preferable than their traditional tribal ways.
Other tales include "The Bull Moose at Bay" (Roosevelt won the 1912 election), "The Light That Blinds, the Claws That Catch" (Roosevelt's first wife Alice does not die in 1884) and "Over There" (Roosevelt reforms the Rough Riders to fight in World War I). While all alternate histories, the stories do not expand past the point of divergence and tease you about how the world is different. For example in "The Bull Moose at Bay" we are told that Roosevelt managed to prevent what would have been World War I from lasting longer than a year. How exactly did he manage that accomplishment without the help of a combat-ready squadron of alien space bats at his command?
Nevertheless, that does not ruin the stories or take away from the fact that Theodore Roosevelt was truly a remarkable man. It is a shame that American history classes pass over his accomplishments, usually only focusing on his charge up San Juan Hill, the Great White Fleet, the Panama Canal and his famous slogan "speak softly and carry a big stick". I personally had to do my own research to truly appreciate his accomplishment. I recommend Edmund Morris' The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt for anyone who wants to start learning more about one of the greatest American presidents the United States ever had.
In conclusion, though light on actual alternate history, this anthology of short stories on Theodore Roosevelt was an excellent read for those knowledgeable or ignorant of Theodore Roosevelt's life. He truly was a real-life action hero and Resnick's stories manage to capture that perfectly.
April 22, 2015
Please note: this review is not a complete assessment of the work. I only read half of the book. I do plan on going back and reading the rest. Frankly I’m too excited not too. Though I want to give my impressions on are still fresh in my memory.
I’m not expert on the genre. I’m just a guy that found this book and is enjoying his time with it.
As the title suggests you’re introduced to different Teddy Roosevelts. In this collection of short stories the author Mike Resnick asks questions like what if Roosevelt stop jack the ripper, or battled aliens found in HG Wells war the world’s. At this time I’m in the middle of the story where Roosevelt, after leaving the responsibilities of being the president United States and looking at a life as an Ex-president, decides to ‘civilize the Congo’ and make it into democracy.
To be honest, before I started reading the stories I was unsure how I would take a bunch of stories with no merit to the historical significance or facts surrounding Roosevelt’s life. I was surprised how much these stories leaned on events in Roosevelt’s life. The characters constantly remind you of Roosevelt being the Harvard champion at boxing and that he wrote countless best Sellers on natural subjects such as birds.
I must admit this gets a little daunting after some time. Though it is a great way to remind yourself of what the man actually did. I could see if I was a high Schooler writing a paper on Roosevelt this book would help me remember his real accomplishments.
The imaginative elements are somewhat farfetched. Though, this is a little bit to be expected. We know Teddy Roosevelt did not do these things that the book claims he did. The author is in the writing a biography of the man. He’s just asking simple questions and playing out in the fiction what that might look like and what events might follow.
The writing style reminds me of an action adventure story or pulp novel. There are things happening all the time. It’s a bit cheesy. Luckily for me I like cheese. All in all it adds to the fun. As I stated in the paragraph above, the author is in making some big statement about Roosevelt he’s just interjecting the wonderful character of the man into some of the most beloved an interesting set things he can think of.
If you’re looking for a group of stories that don’t take themselves too serious and you have a sense of humor and I really enjoy this. If you’re young person, whom is interested in science fiction and fantasy or history you might want to give this book a try. I wish I discovered it when I was 15.
UPDATE: I Have finished the book.
From reading the rest of it I still have the same impression of the book that I did when I wrote the review I labeled as my reading observations. The book is a fun read and one I would recommend people picking up if they are into alternative histories or and American history.
I’m not expert on the genre. I’m just a guy that found this book and is enjoying his time with it.
As the title suggests you’re introduced to different Teddy Roosevelts. In this collection of short stories the author Mike Resnick asks questions like what if Roosevelt stop jack the ripper, or battled aliens found in HG Wells war the world’s. At this time I’m in the middle of the story where Roosevelt, after leaving the responsibilities of being the president United States and looking at a life as an Ex-president, decides to ‘civilize the Congo’ and make it into democracy.
To be honest, before I started reading the stories I was unsure how I would take a bunch of stories with no merit to the historical significance or facts surrounding Roosevelt’s life. I was surprised how much these stories leaned on events in Roosevelt’s life. The characters constantly remind you of Roosevelt being the Harvard champion at boxing and that he wrote countless best Sellers on natural subjects such as birds.
I must admit this gets a little daunting after some time. Though it is a great way to remind yourself of what the man actually did. I could see if I was a high Schooler writing a paper on Roosevelt this book would help me remember his real accomplishments.
The imaginative elements are somewhat farfetched. Though, this is a little bit to be expected. We know Teddy Roosevelt did not do these things that the book claims he did. The author is in the writing a biography of the man. He’s just asking simple questions and playing out in the fiction what that might look like and what events might follow.
The writing style reminds me of an action adventure story or pulp novel. There are things happening all the time. It’s a bit cheesy. Luckily for me I like cheese. All in all it adds to the fun. As I stated in the paragraph above, the author is in making some big statement about Roosevelt he’s just interjecting the wonderful character of the man into some of the most beloved an interesting set things he can think of.
If you’re looking for a group of stories that don’t take themselves too serious and you have a sense of humor and I really enjoy this. If you’re young person, whom is interested in science fiction and fantasy or history you might want to give this book a try. I wish I discovered it when I was 15.
UPDATE: I Have finished the book.
From reading the rest of it I still have the same impression of the book that I did when I wrote the review I labeled as my reading observations. The book is a fun read and one I would recommend people picking up if they are into alternative histories or and American history.
January 29, 2015
This is an odd book, in that the stories are good but add up to something less.
First, the author clearly loves Teddy Roosevelt, and the introduction and afterward are both well worth reading as an entertaining summary of the man's life and his accomplishments.
And none of the stories are bad on their own. I'd recommend most of them as entertaining alternate histories, though the Ripper and Martian stories are the best of breed.
Where the book falls down is that the stories suffer when read back to back. There's too much exposition of Teddy Roosevelt's history, which the people in the stories don't need and the reader has already enjoyed (written better) in the introduction. It's because they were originally published separately at different dates in different magazines, but a bit of editing for the collection would have worked wonders.
That said, if you like alternate history or Roosevelt this is well worth your time.
First, the author clearly loves Teddy Roosevelt, and the introduction and afterward are both well worth reading as an entertaining summary of the man's life and his accomplishments.
And none of the stories are bad on their own. I'd recommend most of them as entertaining alternate histories, though the Ripper and Martian stories are the best of breed.
Where the book falls down is that the stories suffer when read back to back. There's too much exposition of Teddy Roosevelt's history, which the people in the stories don't need and the reader has already enjoyed (written better) in the introduction. It's because they were originally published separately at different dates in different magazines, but a bit of editing for the collection would have worked wonders.
That said, if you like alternate history or Roosevelt this is well worth your time.
February 9, 2012
A compilation of stories Resnick, a big Teddy fan, wrote for various occasions. Resnick imagines how Teddy would have handled situations Teddy didn't experience, but occurred during his lifetime. In one story, for example, Teddy's Bullmoose party wins the election.
My favorite story is "Over There," in which Teddy reassembles the Rough Riders and takes them to Europe to fight in World War I.
My favorite story is "Over There," in which Teddy reassembles the Rough Riders and takes them to Europe to fight in World War I.
January 16, 2015
¿El Presidente más aventurero de USA tiene un libro dedicado a lo qué pudo haber sido? ¿Y además bien escrito? ¿Con situaciones alucinantes pero posibles? Entiendo perfectamente la fascinación del autor con este hombre, y lo mejor de todo es leer el último capítulo que vontiene hechos reales de su vida. ¿Lo peor? Lo corto que es.
January 12, 2012
I thought it was a good quick read. I always find it interesting when real individuals are put into fictional settings. I love history and science-fiction so this was a no brainer for me. I enjoyed it and will read more Resnick to come.
September 3, 2016
Certainly my favorite themed anthology of Mike's work. His perceptions of Teddy Roosevelt are fascinating.
Want to read
May 21, 2023Comprising seven of Resnick's alternate historical tales of Theodore Roosevelt.
February 10, 2009
Teddy Roosevelt, real or imagined, makes me feel really, really, lazy.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews