Wexelblatt, Robert

Robert Wexelblatt finds the title of Margaret P. Griffin’s The Amazing Bird Collection of Young Mr. Roosevelt “a little misleading” because the book explores more than Theodore Roosevelt’s penchant for studying, shooting, and mounting bird specimens. Wexelblatt quotes extensively from Griffin’s work to demonstrate that the book covers other aspects of Roosevelt’s life as a boy and teenager. Wexelblatt also touches on the audience the book aims for and the experience as a teacher that Griffin brought to her project.

Two photographs of Roosevelt, examples of his bird taxidermy and sketching, and the cover illustration of the book appear in the review.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2015

Robert Wexelblatt describes his friendship with William N. Tilchin, the editor of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal (TRAJ). Wexelblatt explains how Tilchin made him into a Theodore Roosevelt expert by repeatedly asking him to review books about Roosevelt for the TRAJ. Wexelblatt writes that reviewing Philip James McFarland’s Mark Twain and the Colonel made him an enthusiast for Roosevelt while lowering his estimation of Mark Twain, and he admires Roosevelt for defeating the demon of depression.

A photograph of Wexelblatt and the front cover illustrations of three books supplement the address.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Robert Wexelblatt praises Philip McFarland for his even-handed approach in his dual biography Mark Twain and the Colonel: Samuel L. Clemens, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Arrival of a New Century. Wexelblatt notes that the disagreements between the writer and the politician will interest most readers, and he highlights Twain’s anti-imperialism as the foremost of these issues. Wexelblatt commends McFarland for explaining the views of Twain, Roosevelt, and their contemporaries in the context of their time. He notes that McFarland also covers the similarities between “the two most famous and celebrated Americans,” and he credits McFarland for his research and his lively prose. 

Photographs of Twain and Roosevelt, and the front cover illustration of Mark Twain and the Colonel, accompany the review.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2013

Robert Wexelblatt describes Rick Marschall’s Bully! The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt as a picture book illustrated with a biography, and he asserts that the scores of political cartoons found within it are “the real glory of the book.” Wexelblatt believes that Marschall has produced an illustrated biography that is both fun and useful, and he provides background on Marschall’s expertise as both a historian and as a political cartoonist which makes him uniquely qualified to pen such a work. Two cartoons found in Bully! accompany the review. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2011

Creator(s)

Wexelblatt, Robert

In his review of J. Lee Thompson’s Theodore Roosevelt Abroad, which studies Theodore Roosevelt’s 1909 to 1910 journey to Africa and Europe, Robert Wexelblatt highlights Thompson’s discussion of Roosevelt’s hunting ethics, his views on imperialism and race, and his commitment to a strong relationship between the United States and Great Britain. Wexelblatt also focuses on Roosevelt’s interactions with Kaiser William II of Germany. Wexelblatt credits Thompson for pointing out shortcomings in Roosevelt’s thoughts and actions, and he employs several block quotes to highlight passages from Thompson and Roosevelt.

The front cover illustration of the book appears at the center of the second page of the review.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2010