{"id":10607,"date":"2006-12-12T07:58:27","date_gmt":"2006-12-12T14:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2006\/12\/12\/book-review-the-rise-of-theodore-roosevelt.html"},"modified":"2006-12-12T07:58:27","modified_gmt":"2006-12-12T14:58:27","slug":"book_review_the_rise_of_t","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/12\/12\/book_review_the_rise_of_t.html","title":{"rendered":"Book Review – The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Been a while since I did many book reviews. And this one is actually an audiobook, but since I just finished it (after receiving it over a year ago), let me off my two cents: <\/p>\n

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The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt<\/strong><\/a><\/i> by Edmund Morris<\/strong> (1979) <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\nOverall<\/strong><\/td>\n\n<\/td>\n\nStory<\/td>\n\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nRe-Readability<\/td>\n\n<\/td>\n\nAudio<\/td>\n\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This audio adaptation (abridged, but still weighing in at a dozen discs or so) of Morris’ Pullitzer Prize-winning biography, is a solid and entertaining, if not overly-illuminating chronology of TR’s childhood through his brief vice-presidency, leaving off just as McKinley dies from an assassination. It covers this broad and interesting subject with enthusiasm and extensive use of the diaries and letters of TR (and some of his family and associates), but in the end the subject remains a big-grinning bespectacled
\nicon of American history. I learned more about TR’s life, but not as much as I’d like about him. <\/p>\n

Part of that is because TR was, for all his outgoing energy, a very private man. There were subjects (such as the death of his first wife) that he never talked or wrote about, even to acknowledge they had happened. He was zealous in building himself from a frail, distracted poindexter of a child into an ideal man, for both the public and his own self-image — rough and tumble as a westerner and “Rough Rider,” yet learned and of unimpeachable ethics. As a result, much of what can be gleaned, even from primary
\nsources, is that ideal image. It wasn’t just about reputation, though that was clearly of far more importance to TR than he would admit, but about how he saw himself, reflected in others’ eyes and his own. <\/p>\n

TR, in this work, lives up to that ideal — a Man’s Man, a Man of Virtue — remarkably well. If still a man of his times — his description of the Indians, Cubans, Spaniards, and the glories of hunting and war, for example, would all be highly impolitic today — he also served as one of the key torchbearers of the progressive movement, serving on the cutting edge of civil service reform, financial reform, and caring for the working class and poor, as well as the early stirrings of his natural conservationism.
\nIf there are plenty of areas he could be criticized for today for falling far short of modern sensibilities, at the time he was considered a radical, a loose cannon, someone who, even as a Republican, was a threat to the status quo<\/em>. <\/p>\n

If nothing else, we learn here the facts (if not always, the reasons) for Roosevelt’s ascent and shaping. I ended up knowing a lot more about TR — his youthful love of biology, his bouts of illness, his western ventures, his romantic entanglements, his service in Cuba, and his political career — than I had (which was part of the intent, after all). <\/p>\n

The book is narrated by Harry Chase, who does a solid job of it. He gives accents and mannerisms to the written dialog in places that sometimes seem to jar, but never too much, and his diction is clear, his pace steady and solid. <\/p>\n

Worth either reading or listening to. I have the presidential sequel, “Theodore Rex<\/em><\/a>, on my wish list … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Been a while since I did many book reviews. And this one is actually an audiobook, but since I just finished it (after receiving it over a year ago), let…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-books"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40853,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/22\/a-note-regarding-a-noteless-gift.html","url_meta":{"origin":10607,"position":0},"title":"A Note Regarding a Noteless Gift","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 22-Jan-14 8:43pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Whoever sent me (presumably for my birthday, or possibly a delayed Secret Santa or something)\u00a0an audiobook copy of The War Lovers (http:\/\/goo.gl\/s2OePy), which got ordered from UK bookseller\u00a0but apparently was shipped from Sweden -- thanks!\ufeff The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898: Evan Thomas, Richard\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30931,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/30\/qotd-teddy-roosevelt-on-special-interests-and-property.html","url_meta":{"origin":10607,"position":1},"title":"QOTD: Teddy Roosevelt on Special Interests and Property","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 30-Oct-12 7:04am","format":false,"excerpt":"\"For every special interest is entitled to justice, but not one is entitled to a vote in Congress, to a voice on the bench, or to representation in any public office. The Constitution guarantees protections to property, and we must make that promise good. But it does not give the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":131983,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/11\/08\/quotations-on-an-election-day-part-6.html","url_meta":{"origin":10607,"position":2},"title":"Quotations on an Election Day, Part 6","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 8-Nov-16 3:46pm","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00b6 The Presidency is not merely an administrative office. That\u2019s the least of it. It is more than an engineering job, efficient or inefficient. It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership. All our great Presidents were leaders of thought at times when certain historic ideas in the life of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Hayes-serves-his-party-best-wist_info-quote-15B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Hayes-serves-his-party-best-wist_info-quote-15B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Hayes-serves-his-party-best-wist_info-quote-15B15D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47445,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/11\/08\/liberty-against-kings.html","url_meta":{"origin":10607,"position":3},"title":"Liberty against Kings","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 8-Nov-14 10:51am","format":false,"excerpt":"Teddy Roosevelt was by no means a perfect man. Hewas over-enthusiastically macho, he loved the concept of war as a way to improve national fiber, and he had many of the \"quaint\" concepts of race that a wealthy white man of the late 19th Century would be expected to have.But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/1912_Teddy-Roosevelt_Bull-Moose-campaigning%5B1%5D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/1912_Teddy-Roosevelt_Bull-Moose-campaigning%5B1%5D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/1912_Teddy-Roosevelt_Bull-Moose-campaigning%5B1%5D.jpgimgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39578,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/11\/05\/reveal-more-hidden-things.html","url_meta":{"origin":10607,"position":4},"title":"Reveal More Hidden Things","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 5-Nov-13 12:52pm","format":false,"excerpt":"There's a ton of coolness here, and I'd love to see those Kickstarter stretch goals met. \u00a0Give it a look, and then (I hope) give it some money.Reshared post from +Doyce TestermanThe Hidden Things Audiobook kickstarter is funded, but despite my aversion to self-promotion, I feel compelled to mention it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30563,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/12\/theyre-called-racist-dolts-for-a-reason.html","url_meta":{"origin":10607,"position":5},"title":"They're called racist dolts for a reason","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 12-Oct-12 11:32am","format":false,"excerpt":"I'd really, really, really, really like to think that this represents a teeny-tiny portion of the American public. Really.If I keep saying that to myself, maybe it will come true.(Oh, and for more on the nomenclature of \"White House\", see\u00a0http:\/\/www.snopes.com\/language\/colors\/whitehouse.asp .)Reshared post from +Les JenkinsNew Post: It's call The White\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10607\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}