Roosevelt the Explorer: T.R.'s Amazing Adventures as a Naturalist, Conservationist, and Explorer

by H. Paul Jeffers

No American president has been more enthusiastic in appreciating the wilderness and in conserving our nation’s natural treasures than Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919). And no other president wrote more about nature and his explorations of it than T. R., in scattered books, such as African Wilderness, and in his countless letters, including those collected in The Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt). Roosevelt the Explorer, by historian and Roosevelt biographer H. Paul Jeffers, is the only book to offer a comprehensive, lifelong chronicle of the consummate adventurer’s exploits and expeditions, which compelled him to traverse some of our planet’s most difficult terrains.

Within these lively pages, Roosevelt collects more than a hundred bird specimens in Egypt at age fourteen; hunts grizzlies and other game in the wilds of the Dakota territory; founds the Boon and Crockett Club, the nation’s first conservation group; and inspires the first Teddy Bear. Jeffers describes T. R.’s efforts as president, against fierce opposition, to establish an unprecedented system of national parks and to ensure the safety of America’s vast federal forests and wetlands from rampant development.

In the words of Roosevelt himself, the adventures unfold T. R.’s 1909–1910, eleven-month, Smithsonian-inspired safari across Africa, from Mombasa on the Indian Ocean to Khartoum in Egypt, which followed his two terms as president; and his 1913–1914 danger-drenched expedition to map South America’s 950-mile River of Doubt (a previously unexplored tributary to the Amazon River later renamed Rio Roosevelt in his honor). During the trip, one man drowned, another was murdered, and the culprit went insane, fleeing into the jungle. Roosevelt was lucky to escape alive, nearly drowning and plagued by jungle fever, dysentery, an ulcerated leg, blood poisoning, and malaria.

Illustrated with rare cartoons and photos, and filled with hairbreadth escapes, exotic animals and locales, and unparalleled excitement, Roosevelt the Explorer brings to life T. R.’s thrilling and often controversial exploits as no other book has done since the twenty-sixth president took his pen in hand over eighty years ago.

Genres: History, Biography, Adventure, Nature

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

H. Paul Jeffers was an established military historian and author of seventy books. He worked as an editor and producer at ABC, CBS and NBC, and is the only person to have been news director of both of New York City's all-news radio stations. He taught journalism at New York University, Syracuse University, and Boston University.

Reviews

[Kristal Stidham · Rating 2 out of 5]

As Jeffers points out in the Author’s Notes, excellent books have been written about every facet of Teddy Roosevelt’s life EXCEPT for his adventures/exploration/conservation efforts. Unfortunately, there STILL isn’t a good book on that subject. The title and the cover photo (T.R. in front of Yosemite Falls) gave me a lot of hope, but the content of the book left me un-satisfied.

I’m going to go ahead and blame the author and his poor execution, because there certainly was enough material to make a good book. Teddy Roosevelt was a world traveler and enthusiastic explorer throughout his life. As President, he was instrumental in saving over 100 million acres of public land through his support of the National Park system and Forest Service. After his presidency, he went on a year-long African safari and charted an Amazonian river – collecting bird and animal trophies for
American museums along the way. All the while, he was a prolific author and letter-writer, making his thoughts/motivations/plans a matter of record rather than speculation.

It’s the over-abundance of documentation that trips-up this author. In the first two parts of the book, he often loses focus and spends more time on Roosevelt’s family life and politics than he does on the adventures. Sometimes he tries to group information thematically and sometimes it’s chronological, which makes for dis-jointed and confusing reading. I was also annoyed by the contrived segues and the occasional repetition of quotes and passages (even the author can’t keep track of what he’s talking about and when!) Meanwhile, he misses the opportunity to detail Teddy’s travels as a child, which I believe to be instrumental in forming the man who would be one of our greatest Presidents. I probably should have cut my losses and closed the book when T.R.’s three-day backpacking trip into Yosemite with John Muir was covered in exactly ONE PAGE.

I persisted in reading because Part 3 of the book is about his African safari, which was interesting but actually TOO comprehensive. Do we really need to know exactly which kind of bullet came from which gun at what distance and under what circumstances to kill each and every animal he shot on the continent? (I’m totally not kidding!) I don’t agree with trophy hunting at all, but I do recognize that the safari party did eat most of the meat and it was just the way things were done a century ago. The conservationist in T.R. did actually believe that he had a scientific obligation to kill (for science and posterity!) no less than three white rhinos that he knew were nearly extinct. *sigh*

Part 4 was the best, in my opinion – not just for subject matter but also for the flow of it. Jeffers doesn’t get bogged down with quotes as he tells the story of Roosevelt’s expedition on a previously un-explored tributary of the Amazon. (Still, its covered better by Candace Millard in her book titled “River of Doubt”.)

What will I take away from this book? On the downside, the miniature font used by the publisher gave me a permanent squint. Also, this book will forever remind me that you can’t judge a book by its cover. On the positive side, it’s confirmation of my belief that travel and literature are important contributors to a well-rounded adult, lending perspective to your place in the world. Also, I enjoyed learning how many of the phrases we still use were T.R. originals – like “the right stuff”, which was about having the courage to hunt a grizzly bear, not to be an astronaut! And best of all, I’m happy that Teddy was a big-time birding geek – just like me!

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up thinking it would a nice focus on Roosevelt's exploratory expeditions. In that vein, Roosevelt the Explorer is a disappointment. The text reads like the author can't decide whether or not he wants to discuss Roosevelt as a nature enthusiast and conservationist, Roosevelt as a hunter, or Roosevelt in general. Some parts of the text are very repetitive, to the point where the author seems to have just copy/pasted previous passages, and some parts are so pared down as to leave the reader little idea what is happening if they don't come to this with an understanding of background information. For example, during one passage about the Roosevelt-Rondon Expedition down the River of Doubt, the author mentions that Roosevelt called for three cheers for Rondon, the Brazilian Army, and the Telegraph Commission. If a reader doesn't come to Roosevelt the Explorer knowing that Rondon was the head of the Telegraph Commission and that he and his men had been effectively exploring uncharted areas of Brazil while laying telegraph line they would have no idea why this is mentioned or why it was important enough for Roosevelt to call out by name. With this in mind, I give Roosevelt the Explorer two stars for being somewhat bad but not absolutely terrible. If you are interested in learning about Theodore Roosevelt in this way, I highly suggest The Naturalist: Theodore Roosevelt and his Adventures in the Wilderness by Darrin Lunde, an excellent book about Roosevelt's fascination with and love of nature throughout his life. That book also addresses Roosevelt's apparently contradictory love of hunting in the context of his time period and his personality. If you are interested in learning about the Roosevelt-Rondon Expedition, I highly recommend The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard, a book about that very trip that addresses the expedition in detail, but in a way more reminiscent of a adventure novel than a dry recitation of facts. Her novel captures the voices of the explorers by drawing heavily on the journals and diaries of those who were there, and she also does an excellent job of explaining background information and context that twenty-first century reader might not know about a 1914 expedition. Both are absolutely amazing books.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

With all the books there are to read about Teddy, don't settle for this one. It's sort of a 'highlights' reel full of quotes and stories largely from other publications, and overall not a very well constructed book. If a Teddy fan, then there will be many stories you may have already read before, and they might be fun to review, but as a book, I wouldn't recommend this one with so many other better to choose from. Sometimes the author ridiculously fawns over his hero, " with almost biblical prose, the hero of San Juan Heights wrote......." The author also inexplicably frequently repeats the same quotes or anecdotes in different parts of the book, which indicated to me he was either really sloppy or senile, or didn't have an editor, or just wanted to slap a Teddy book out there and felt people would read it because it was about TR. Certainly there were parts of the books that were fun and interesting to read, but I had read them in other places before, sort of like re-watching a movie you like. I generally don't like to do that with books know, it didn't really add to the world of literature.

[David Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this biography of Teddy Roosevelt’s life as a hunter, an adventurer, a naturalist, and about his family and personal life, on a recommendation of a friend. It was a unique topic, and I think H. Paul Jeffers is a good author. I see from his vast list of published titles that he has been prolific.
Overall, this was not one of my favorite books - only because the predominant theme was Roosevelt’s hunting trips. He shot killed large volumes of wild game, in the spirit of gathering specimens for museums and documenting new species. I just couldn’t get over the hundreds of animals he killed - I mean how many lions and bears and elephants does a guy have to shoot, does it have to be hundreds of each. Anyway, the author devotes a lot of dialogue to the hunts, a nd I suppose that fascinates other hunters, but I don’t hunt, or even think very highly of the “sport”, so it escaped me.
I did appreciate learning how adventurous and highly motivated that T.R. Was.
I’m glad I read it.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theodore Roosevelt was a strong, fierce, smart man. This book doesn't highlight his presidency, but as the title suggests, his explorations across the U.S., East Africa, and the Amazon.
I felt I really got to know TR's attitude to life better. He believed in getting out there and doing things and that it was better to try and fail than to stand at the sidelines and criticize.
I liked how the author Jeffers addressed the readers' concerns, like how Roosevelt was a great lover of animals and believed in conservation, and yet also wrote about his many hunting adventures.
I really enjoyed reading this book, although as an animal lover, the hunting stories could be a bit much. Yet Jeffers also included Roosevelt's own writing detailing the animals he saw and collected for science, giving careful, respectful descriptions.
One thing that amazed me about Roosevelt is how well-read he was, even while being such a hands-on, taking life by the horns sort of man. On his year-long safari he had packed a suitcase just of books and was always glad to meet anyone else in the area who could loan him something new to read.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't what I expected, and I didn't end up finishing the book. I've been interested in learning more about Teddy Roosevelt as a conservationist. Unfortunately, this book contains mostly graphic descriptions of his hunting adventures.

I'm willing to make the stretch to try to understand the seemingly paradoxical nature of a man who loved and wanted to protect wilderness while also joyfully engaging in big game hunting, but I certainly do not want to read detailed descriptions about the majesty and grace of animals, followed by a description of someone dropping them with a bullet to the head.

[Ross Cohen]

Jeffers does a fine job stitching together various selections from TR's books on hunting and adventure, trimming the purple and showcasing the brilliant.

[SWC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated reading about Theodore Roosevelt's time in the far west, Africa, and South America. In the 19th century he was already a well-traveled man

[Conchetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read. Nicely written.