Peterson, Roger Tory, 1908-1996

Duane G. Jundt chronicles Theodore Roosevelt’s life-long fascination with birds, extending from his youth to his executive action as president in establishing the nation’s first fifty-one bird preserves. Jundt highlight’s Roosevelt’s penchant for identifying birds by their songs and calls, and he notes Roosevelt’s fondness for the meadowlark and his ability to observe and write eloquently about the birds he encountered. Jundt describes the context that led Roosevelt to establish bird refuges, including the threat to birds posed by the women’s hat industry and his views on presidential power. Jundt concludes his essay with a discussion on Roosevelt’s fondness for birding at his Long Island home, Sagamore Hill.

Two photographs, two Power Point slides created by Jundt, four antique bird conservation card illustrations, and a stereoscope card populate the essay.

William J. Kolodnicki praises Paul Russell Cutright and Michael J. Brodhead for their biography of Elliott Coues, an important figure in the history of American ornithology whose Key to North American Birds helped develop the birding skills of Theodore Roosevelt. John A. Gable reviews Howard W. Allen’s Poindexter of Washington: A Study in Progressive Politics about Miles Poindexter and his transformation from progressive to conservative in the first quarter of the twentieth century. David G. McCullough asserts that a photograph of a young Roosevelt that is usually captioned as Roosevelt preparing to box actually shows him dressed to row.

A full page photograph of Roosevelt dressed to row with McCullough’s explanatory caption makes up the third page of the “Book Notes” column.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal