The Selected Letters

by H.W. Brands

Previously available only in a long-out-of-print, eight-volume edition, Theodore Roosevelt's letters are now accessible in this single-volume compendium of the most revealing of the former president's correspondence. Featuring over 1,000 letters to such influential addressees as Jefferson Davis, Frederick Remington, John Muir, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Rudyard Kipling, Upton Sinclair, Booker T. Washington, Jane Addams, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and a who's who of presidents—William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt—this compilation fully illuminates the private and public personas of one of the most accomplished men in American history.

In little more than six decades, Roosevelt was a rancher, historian, reformer, New York state assemblyman, New York City police commissioner, assistant secretary of the Navy, military hero, governor of New York, vice president, twenty-sixth president, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, hunter, conservationist, and Amazon explorer. To each undertaking he brought his signature passion, humor, and thoughtfulness, all fully evident in these remarkable letters.

Genres: History, American History

464 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2001

About the author

H.W. Brands is an acclaimed American historian and author of over thirty books on U.S. history, including Pulitzer Prize finalists The First American and Traitor to His Class. He holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD. Originally trained in mathematics, Brands turned to history as a way to pursue his passion for writing. His biographical works on figures like Franklin, Jackson, Grant, and both Roosevelts have earned critical and popular praise for their readability and depth. Raised in Oregon and educated at Stanford, Reed College, and Portland State, he began his teaching career in high schools before entering academia. He later taught at Texas A&M and Vanderbilt before returning to UT Austin. Brands challenges conventional reverence for the Founding Fathers, advocating for a more progressive and evolving view of American democracy. In addition to academic works, his commentary has featured in major documentaries. His books, published internationally and translated into multiple languages, examine U.S. political, economic, and cultural development with compelling narrative force. Beyond academia, he is a public intellectual contributing to national conversations on history and governance.