Theodore Roosevelt: An American Original

Heroes of History #10

by Janet Benge, Geoff Benge

Determined to make a difference and with an insatiable curiosity, love of adventure, and hunger for justice, Theodore Roosevelt exemplified a life directed by principle and not by circumstance.

Overcoming severe asthma and a weak heart set young Teddy on a life course against the odds. Whether rooting out government and corporate corruption, leading the legendary Rough Riders in war, establishing wildlife refuges and national parks, ranching in the Badlands of Dakota, writing books, or exploring dangerous uncharted land, the twenty-sixth president of the United States embraced every challenge and made his life count (1858-1919).

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Middle Grade, American History, School, Historical

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

Janet and Geoff Benge are a husband and wife writing team with twenty years of writing experience. They are best known for the books in the two series Christian Heroes: Then & Now series and Heroes of History. Janet is a former elementary school teacher. Geoff holds a degree in history. Together they have a passion to make history come alive for a new generation. Originally from New Zealand, the Benges make their home in the Orlando, Florida, area.

Reviews

[Daniel Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, concise biography of one of our greatest presidents. Simple explanation of an illegal trust.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Benges do a great job as usual writing a biography that presents information in a child-friendly way without saying away from the hard stuff. I learned a lot about Roosevelt that I didn't know before.

[Kathryn Egly · Rating 5 out of 5]

istened to this on my free Hoopla app. The book started a little slow, but as Theodore Roosevelt (aka Teddy) went to college, his life became very interesting. He grew to become a remarkable man who fought against cronyism and crime in government.

I loved the story of how he became president. It started when he was asked by William McKinley to be his VICE president. He said NO. He didn’t want to be Vice President for three reasons:

He enjoyed his current job as of governor of New York.
The pay wasn’t enough. He was making $10,000 a year as governor, and his home in New York was paid for. If he became Vice President, the pay was only $8,000 a year – and he’d have to rent a home for his large family in Washington DC. He honestly didn’t think his family could survive on that smaller amount of money.
He just wasn’t interested in being Vice President.
Well, the public LOVED how ‘humble’ he was about not wanting to be Vice President. There was enough pressure for him to change his mind and accept the position. McKinley-Roosevelt won the election in a landslide. As Teddy expected, he didn’t love the job of VP. He had to remain mostly quiet and listen (he preferred talking and sharing his point of view), and he didn’t feel like he could make much of a difference as Vice President. However, six months into his new role, McKinley was killed, and Teddy Roosevelt became President. He served for the next 7.5 years, and loved his role. He was only 42 years old – the youngest man ever to be president.

[Michelle Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent story about the life of a fascinating man. It is hard to imagine that all the experiences Teddy Roosevelt had were had by one man: tours of Europe, hunts in Africa, travels down the amazon, such heartbreaking loss of family, not to mention a political career that included the White House! What a full life lived in 60 years.

[Ruthe Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series, Heroes of History" by Janet and Geoff Benge, are consistently worth your while to read - or in my case, listen to the ebook audiobook. I especially loved reading of one of my all-time favorite American presidents.

[Lea Berryreadinbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened with kids. There are so many good biographies on TR. This one was just okay

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book about the life of Teddy Roosevelt. He was a very hard worker, over many obstacles throughout life & never compromised his values.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4* Audio

[Jack M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't finished the entire book yet, but so far, like all of the others that I have read from this series, fantastic. The writing style remains unchanged, but it's just the same as all the others, just a different person each time. It talks about the deaths in his family over the first few decades of his life, his asthma attacks as he was a kid. So far, this is the best series of books I've read by leaps and bounds.

[Madkropotkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a children's book on old Teddy Roosevelt, this book packs a lot of information. Good quick read.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook for the car