Three biographies–of Holt Collier, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gifford Pinchot–come under scrutiny in the “Reviews” section along with a play and documentary about Roosevelt. Tweed Roosevelt finds the biography of Holt Collier, who led Theodore Roosevelt’s famous 1902 bear hunt, notable for its descriptions of slavery in antebellum Mississippi, but he finds its coverage of Roosevelt flawed. Gregory A. Wynn recommends Kathleen Dalton’s biography Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life for its coverage of Roosevelt’s life after the presidency, its recognition of the important influence women had on his life, and for making Roosevelt “a hero for liberals.” The section also contains an excerpt of a review of Dalton’s work from Kirkus Reviews.
Gary A. Clinton admires Laurence Luckinbill’s play Teddy Tonight for capturing the spirit of Roosevelt in his own words, and he finds that it resonates in a nation reeling from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A review of The History Channel’s documentary TR: An American Lion lists the “talking head” historians who appear in the film along with members of the Roosevelt family. The review highlights the negative coverage given Roosevelt’s attitudes on race and imperialism, and it praises the actors who provide the film’s narration and voice of Roosevelt. The section concludes with excerpts from four positive reviews of Char Miller’s biography of Gifford Pinchot.
Three photographs appear in the section, including a picture of two cast members of TR: An American Lion.
