Your TR Source
Alden Stevens provides a brief biographical look of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, giving particular focus to his experience with and impact on conservation in the United States.
1958-10-27
Advertisement for Colonel Roosevelt, the final volume of Edmund Morris’s trilogy on the life of Theodore Roosevelt. The ad features an illustration of Roosevelt, the front cover illustrations for all three volumes, and six endorsement excerpts from newspapers and magazines.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2010
In a chapter titled “A Most Just and Proper Revolution,” taken from the second volume of his biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex, Edmund Morris details the machinations in Washington, D.C. and Panama that resulted in the revolution against Colombian rule on the Isthmus and the establishment of the independent nation of Panama. Morris describes the careful actions and words of administration figures like Roosevelt and Secretary of State John Hay, and he charts the movement of ships of the United States Navy sent in support of the insurrection. Morris adds to his Panama narrative interludes about the November 1903 elections in the United States, Roosevelt’s visit to Sagamore Hill, and his compilation of a reading list.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2001
Carlos Camargo and Tweed Roosevelt examine misconceptions about Theodore Roosevelt’s childhood struggle with asthma. Camargo and Roosevelt find that Theodore Roosevelt’s asthma was not psychosomatic, and they counter the assertions made by biographer David G. McCullough that Theodore Roosevelt used asthma attacks as a way to avoid church. Camargo and Roosevelt also contend that Theodore Roosevelt’s initiation of a vigorous exercise program did not “cure” his asthma, but they note that Roosevelt believed it did. The authors recognize that Roosevelt’s belief that he had overcome his asthma by pursuing a strenuous life was beneficial to him and important to his worldview.
Six photographs of Theodore Roosevelt, two of the authors, two tables, and three illustrations populate the article.
Tweed Roosevelt reveals the genesis of his project with Carlos Camargo to study Theodore Roosevelt’s struggle with asthma as a child. Roosevelt writes that he was skeptical of David G. McCullough’s assertion that Roosevelt’s condition was psychosomatic and designed to keep him from attending Sunday church services. Roosevelt and Camargo found that Theodore Roosevelt never shirked church attendance, and they also note that, despite his assertions, Theodore Roosevelt did not cure himself of his asthma by his vigorous exercise regimen and living a strenuous life.
A photograph of Tweed Roosevelt and the front cover of McCullough’s biography, Mornings on Horseback, accompany the essay.
In her review of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, Alice L. George notes that the book provides biographies of both presidents, as well as pointing out their differences and similarities. In keeping with the structure of Goodwin’s work, George emphasizes the 1912 campaign and the schism between Roosevelt and Taft. Goodwin also chronicles each man’s relationship with the press, a process mastered by Roosevelt and neglected by Taft. George acknowledges Goodwin’s “writing prowess,” but asserts that the book is too long and should have been shortened by at least 100 pages.
The front and back covers of The Bully Pulpit illustrate the essay.
Michael Kort opens and closes his book review essay with thoughts on the equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt that used to mark the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Kort cites the statue as emblematic of the argument made in Edward P. Kohn’s Heir to the Empire City: New York and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt that New York City was more important to shaping the man and his policies than the Dakota Badlands. Kort believes that Kohn makes a persuasive case, but he does question the book’s lack of academic citations and Kohn’s use of speculative language.
The front cover of Kohn’s book, a political cartoon, and a photograph of James Earle Fraser’s equestrian statue of Roosevelt accompany the essay.
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.
Stacey A. Cordery reviews the final volume of Edmund Morris’s trilogy of the life of Theodore Roosevelt, Colonel Roosevelt. Cordery contends that with his final volumes on Roosevelt, Morris has restored his reputation as a biographer which had been damaged by his inventive biography of Ronald Reagan, Dutch. Cordery praises Morris for his “marvelous prose” and his ability to set a scene, but she balks at some of the language he employs, especially references to sexuality and race. Cordery asserts that Morris handles politics poorly, and that he pays insufficient attention to the women in Roosevelt’s life, especially his wife Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. Cordery believes that Morris has not adequately incorporated the latest in Roosevelt scholarship, but she recognizes that his work has made Roosevelt known to legions of readers and elevated his place in American culture.
The front cover illustrations for all three volumes of Morris’s trilogy appear in the review.
Tweed Roosevelt provides two lists of books about Theodore Roosevelt. He lists what he considers to be the five best books to introduce Roosevelt to newcomers, and he also lists fifty books that he classifies as essential to those wanting “a well-rounded education” on Roosevelt. He lists the five books for newcomers in a a paragraph in the text, but the fifty essential books are numbered and placed in alphabetical order by the author’s or editor’s last name with publication dates ranging from 1906 to 2010. The front cover illustrations to four titles supplement the text.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2011
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.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2011
The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) congratulates Edmund Morris and Sylvia Jukes Morris as winners of the 2011 Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal. The announcement features an advertisement for Colonel Roosevelt, the final volume of Edmund Morris’s trilogy on the life of Theodore Roosevelt. The ad features an illustration of Roosevelt, the front cover illustrations for all three volumes, and six endorsement excerpts from newspapers and magazines.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2011
William N. Tilchin provides a mixed review of Aida DiPace Donald’s biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Lion in the White House. Tilchin notes that there is a need for a 200 to 300-page biography of Roosevelt that is not met by the better known works of much greater length. Tilchin highlights the omissions and errors found in Donald’s biography, and he notes its lack of citations and sometimes awkward phrasing. Despite these shortcomings, Tilchin recommends the work for general readers because of its themes and its emphasis on Roosevelt’s emulation of Abraham Lincoln.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2008
William N. Tilchin praises Stacey A. Cordery’s Historic Photos of Theodore Roosevelt not just for its collection of photographs, but because he feels that it merits reading as “a fine brief biography of TR.” Tilchin includes twelve selections from the work that include captions penned by Cordery. Henry J. Hendrix finds that Iestyn M. Adams’s Brothers Across the Ocean does an admirable job of explaining how Great Britain and the United States put aside their differences to forge an informal alliance during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency, but he admonishes Adams for failing to utilize more American works in his study and for characterizing Roosevelt as “immature and bellicose.”
The book review section also includes a text box with the vision statement of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.
Michael B. Brennan delivers a eulogy about Theodore Roosevelt to the Spectacle Club of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In doing so, Brennan provides a biography of Roosevelt, noting the highlights of his career, and he quotes extensively from Roosevelt’s second inaugural address. A photograph of Roosevelt visiting with workers at the Panama Canal supplements the text.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2007-04-20
Announcement that John A. Gable, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, has written a brief fifty-two page biography of Theodore Roosevelt. The article describes the layout of the book, quotes from its text, and highlights some of its contents, such as Roosevelt’s financial losses in his ranching ventures and his work pursuing peace through the international courts at The Hague. A picture of the front cover of the book appears at the center of the article.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2004
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.
Biography dominates the “Reviews” section of this issue: five biographies are considered, including those of four Roosevelts and one of Gifford Pinchot. Charles W. Snyder finds H. Paul Jeffers’s examination of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt’s life to be less than complete, and he notes that the work focuses on Roosevelt’s military career, especially his service during World War II. John A. Gable revisits the work of husband and wife biographers Edmund Morris and Sylvia Jukes Morris in his essays on their biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. Gable compares The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt with Theodore Rex, and he asserts that the endnotes in both works are worth reading. He notes that paperback editions of both of the Morris biographies have been issued to coincide with the release of Theodore Rex.
Gable reviews Char Miller’s Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism, and he describes the split in the environmental movement between the followers of Pinchot and John Muir. Gable highlights Pinchot’s career after his service in the Roosevelt administration, and he notes that Miller’s work has won two book awards for biography. “In Medal of Honor Revisited,” Gregory A. Wynn examines the arguments of two acclaimed military historians who take opposing views on Theodore Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor award. Wynn summarizes the arguments of Edward M. Coffman and Allan Reed Millett, and he finds more merit in Coffman’s assertions based on eyewitness accounts of Roosevelt’s actions in battle.
Tweed Roosevelt asks why there has been so little consideration of Theodore Roosevelt’s record as a conservationist. He reviews some of the major biographies and histories of Roosevelt and his time and finds that their examination of Roosevelt as a conservationist is scanty at best. Tweed Roosevelt identifies Roosevelt’s father, Theodore Roosevelt, and his uncle, Robert Barnwall Roosevelt, as important figures in shaping Roosevelt’s interest in the natural world, and he surveys the actions taken by Roosevelt as Governor of New York and President of the United States to safeguard rivers, forests, birds, and natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon.
Two photographs of Theodore Roosevelt and one of Robert Barnwall Roosevelt supplement the text.
John A. Gable reviews the second volume of Edmund Morris’s biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex. Gable notes the literary character of the work, and he argues that Henry F. Pringle’s biography of Roosevelt is still read not because of its judgments, but because it is well written. Gable also compares Morris’s book to those of Lewis L. Gould and William Henry Harbaugh, and he quotes from several reviews of Theodore Rex in leading newspapers and magazines. Gable singles out the critical review of Christine Stansell, and he rebuffs some of her arguments by quoting from a response he wrote to her review. Gable concludes his essay by noting that many reviewers found parallels between the events of September 11, 2001 and the assassination of President William McKinley in September 1901.
A photograph of Roosevelt, two of Morris, and a text box advertising a CD-ROM published by the Theodore Roosevelt Association appear in the review.