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Theodore Roosevelt
Sportsman. Naturalist. Warrior. President. There are so many sides to Theodore Roosevelt that it is easy to overlook one of his most enduring contributions to American public the use of fame to fuel his political career. In this concisely written, enlightening book, presidential historian Lewis L. Gould goes beyond the "bully pulpit" stereotypes to reveal how Roosevelt used his celebrity to change American politics. Based on research gleaned from the personal papers of Roosevelt and his contemporaries, Theodore Roosevelt recaptures its subject's bold activism and irrepressible, larger-than-life personality. Beginning with his privileged childhood in New York City, the narrative traces his election to the New York Assembly, where he quickly rose through the ranks of the Republican Party. It is here that he first applied his shrewd ability to keep himself in the spotlight--a skill that served him well as commander of a volunteer regiment (dubbed "Roosevelt's Rough Riders") in the Spanish-American War. Gould shows how Roosevelt rode a wave of popular acclaim at the war's end, assuming the governorship of New York and serving as president from 1901 to 1909. While covering his major accomplishments as chief executive, including his successes as a trust-buster, labor mediator, and conservationist, Gould explains how fame both sustained and limited Roosevelt when he ran for president in 1912 and opposed Woodrow Wilson's policies during World War I. Theodore Roosevelt delivers the most insightful look yet at a pioneer of political theater--a man whose vigorous idealism as a champion of democracy serves as a counterpoint to the cynicism of today's political landscape. The book will coincide with the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt's third party run for the Progressive or Bull Moose Party.
104 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 12, 2011
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122 people want to read
About the author
Lewis L. Gould
59 books13 followersLewis L. Gould is Eugene C. Barker Professor Emeritus in American History at the University of Texas in Austin. Gould earned an A.B. from Brown University in 1961, and an M.A. (1962) and Ph.D. (1966) from Yale University.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 3, 2021
A horrible biography. Large parts are more a cometary on him by the author and less a telling of what happened. Large and important parts where left out and focus was put on less important things to make him look like a modern politician from the democrat party.
January 3, 2016
Very stark, but then it is just a short overview. Solid and readable. It was interesting to read of the 58-yr-old TR wanting to lead troops into WWI.
February 8, 2018
A concise history of Teddy Roosevelt's life from his early days, through college and his early career, onto Vice President and then Presidents, and finally onto his post Presidential life including his creation of a Progressive party to run for President again and his on again off again support of the Republican Party.
On one hand, this book reaffirmed my respect for the man considered to be one of our best Presidents from his spunk and vigor to get things done, to his love of the common man and many attempts to regulate big and crooked business and insure that people weren't taken advantage off.
However, I also discovered that he was a tryant who did not like people whose views were different than his own. Also, that even though he setup what would become the modern White House press process and gave them more access than ever before, he would also freeze out anyone whose reporting he did not like and would not even let them in the building.
I would like to read more about him in the years to come, but it appears that he was a great man, but a man who almost believed that he was there by divine right and acted accordingly.
On one hand, this book reaffirmed my respect for the man considered to be one of our best Presidents from his spunk and vigor to get things done, to his love of the common man and many attempts to regulate big and crooked business and insure that people weren't taken advantage off.
However, I also discovered that he was a tryant who did not like people whose views were different than his own. Also, that even though he setup what would become the modern White House press process and gave them more access than ever before, he would also freeze out anyone whose reporting he did not like and would not even let them in the building.
I would like to read more about him in the years to come, but it appears that he was a great man, but a man who almost believed that he was there by divine right and acted accordingly.
June 5, 2022
Started early this year, and haven’t spent a ton of time with it. Obviously since it took 4 months to read the 75 pages. A super short easy read of the life of TR. Didn’t learn a ton except about his early life because the last half of his life was lived so publicly it’s still taught in US history. Or was 20 years ago. Still, not a bad little book.
March 25, 2018
I was looking to learn more about his six children and how he started the national park service but this book was more about politics
June 10, 2021
This is an easy-to-read summary of Roosevelt’s life. If you are looking for a quick-hit synopsis that doesn’t dive down too far into the weeds, I would recommend giving this one a try.
March 13, 2023
A good quick read to get a sense of Teddy Roosevelt. A good high level overview or summary.
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July 2, 2023my bday twin!!! he's racist but a conservationist but thought there wasn't enough war?? Idk how to rate this so i wont
August 16, 2023
Decent introduction to a figure who is worth exploring further
March 16, 2012
A good short read. I have read other bios on Teddy Roosevelt, but this one pointed out how Roosevelt used his life style to keep himself very popular. Also the book is fair in it's portrait of Roosevelt. He was a great man and one of the greatest presidents, but he had some powerful weaknesses . If you enjoy American history and the evolution of the political in the USA, I would recommend this. The creation of the Bull Moose party was fascinating.
October 12, 2015
At only 80-something pages, this book is an excellent summary of Theodore Roosevelt's life. I own, but have not yet read, the Edmund Morris's three-volumes on Roosevelt, and I want to read those books soon, but I am way behind on my Goodreads Book Reading Challenge for this year, so I am reading shorter books to try to catch up. As I read this compact summary of Roosevelt's life, it was easy to imagine that every sentence is expanded into an entire chapter in Morris's volumes.
January 3, 2012
The March 12, 2012 issue of The Weekly Standard magazine carries my reviews of Lewis L. Gould's Theodore Roosevelt at http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/tr-brief_633114.html. I enjoyed the book---in 104 pages it gives one a good introduction to Roosevelt.
April 20, 2013
A short review of Roosevelt's life which covers his shrewd ability to keep himself in the spotlight. Very popular, his fame included his success as a trust-buster and labor mediator. However, having read several books about him, I did not realize he was against civil rights measures. Still he was a champion of democracy.
March 4, 2013
A 75-page easy read that serves as a decent introduction or refresher. Worth the $0.99 that I paid for the Kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Roosev...
April 9, 2014
Very simple biography. Short and to the point. Don't expect anything in depth.
June 21, 2014
Good synopsis of his life.
March 8, 2015
This is a very small book, at 73 pages. But Lewis Gould's writing is wonderful and the book succinctly portrays TR the celebrity. Look forward to reading more Lewis Gould writings.
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August 29, 2015Concise biography. Read for class
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews