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Release Date: 2002-10-01
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| Features• ISBN13: 9780812966008
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A great bio of a great manThis is a great, thorough, biography...very detailed and readable....Makes me want to read the first one
Great History and Politics,This book seems overwhelming at first glance, but its hard to put it down. Reads like a novel, entertaining, and relevant to the present political issues. Great food for thought about political parties and power, corporate power, foreign policy, and great statesmanship. A must read for all political persuasions.
Appropriate for a fifth graderI could not get past the first chapter. This so-called historical work is full of unverifiable emotions Morris throws in as purely literary devices, and he is NOT a novelist. It reads like pulp fiction and is insulting to the intelligent amateur historian. McCullough's "Mornings On Horseback" is a far superior work yes sadly only covers T.R.'s early years. (I have no financial or other relationship of any kind with Morris, McCullough, or any of the publishers of their work).
Fascinating RooseveltAfter reading the fabulous and fascinating "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" by Morris last year, I was anxious to continue the journey. Roosevelt's life leading up to the presidency of the United States was in constant motion and excitement and the first volume of the biography reads the same way.
"Theodore Rex" deals only with the 7 1/2 years of Roosevelt's presidency. I became completely engrossed in the political atmosphere at the beginning of the Twentieth Century and Roosevelt's actions and reactions as the president. I found it especially interesting that many of the political issues of 2010 were issues in 1907 too. Politics doesn't really change very much.
As president, Roosevelt, who many feared would be a warmonger, negotiated peace between other countries and kept the U.S. out of war. He demonstrated to the international community a willingness to action if necessary which often resulted in peaceful settlements. He "built" the Panama Canal. He negotiated settlements during labor disputes; broke up trusts; called for conservation of natural resources (the first federal land grab which resulted in many of our best known and beloved National Parks); built a much stronger navy; and cleaned up and regulated the food industry. He also brought so much more power to the executive branch and beefed up the federal government. While I believe he believed that he was doing the best thing for the United States, I personally think he may have lacked the foresight to think about the consequences of such a strong post when he was no longer filling it.
Again, Morris delivers a readable and enjoyable tome of the amazing life of Theodore Roosevelt.
Wish I could give it a 4.5This is a fantastic book for anyone who wishes to know about TR's achievements and the challenges he faced while in office. This in and of itself is a strength. There seem to be a plethora of books about TR's upbringing and his time after being in office, but this book goes about the task of only attacking the period of time that ubdoubtedly defined Roosevelt's life. Morris does a fine job at outlining all of his accomplishments, illustrating how he had to juggle with different challenges at the same time throughout his presidency, and also makes allusions as why so many of his achievements were of such importance. Morris does a good job at showcasing Roosevelt's political aptitude (he was a political genius) by highlighting his behavior in a variety of different circumstances, from the coal miners strike early on in his Administration to his role as peacemaker during the Russo-Japanese war, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He also does a great job in showing how much resistance Roosevelt often faced from the political establishment despite remaining hugely popular in the eyes of the public.
One strength of Morris's account is that he portrays Roosevelt as more than a one dimensional figure. He is clearly pro-Roosevelt, but his description of the resistance TR encountered is more or less a testament to how controversial a figure he actually was at the time. TR wasn't a blinded member of the far right; on the contrary, Morris shows that, by the end of his time in office, the "Old Guard" Republican bloc essentially despised him. Roosevelt was complex in other ways, as well, whether it was in how he handled race relations, his feelings on the Japanese and his respect for (and fear of) their continuing expansion, or his position on certain Washington elites.
I wish I could give this a 4.5, however that is not possible. That said, I do believe it falls short of a 5 star piece of writing. For one thing, Morris gets a little grandiose at times (throughout the whole book, really). His prose almost leads one to believe that he wishes he were alive at the time of TR, and many of his descriptive passages (especially regarding TR's personal life and descriptions of people) can be tiresome and long-winded. For comparison's sake, I started reading Crime and Punishment after I finished Theodore Rex, and that seemed more fast-paced. I like to think I'm relatively educated, but Morris also made a great deal of allusions that frequently went over my head. He uses many biblical and mythological references in describing Roosevelet and his contemporaries, and doesn't hesitate to break out phrases in French or Latin (these are more complex than simply "veni, vidi vici" or "Ces't la vie"), many of which he doesn't bother translating. Finally, the cast of characters is so enormous that I eventually gave up trying to remember who was who outside of a few key players. Morris would introduce Congressmen on one page, not bring them up for a long while, and then all of the sudden make them the center of attention.
That said, however, the book does do a fine job at demonstrating why Theodore Roosevelt is rightfully considered one of our greatest Presidents. It hits on all of his major achievements, and does justice to TR by delving deeply into his personality. I would reccomend this to anyone who has a relatively serious interest (not just a passing curiosity) in learning about his time in office. After reading this I would certainly like to read the book's precursor, "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt," albiet with some time in between to decompress. Overall, I'm really glad I decided to finally read this.
Product DescriptionTheodore Rex is the story—never fully told before—of Theodore Roosevelt’s two world-changing terms as President of the United States. A hundred years before the catastrophe of September 11, 2001, “TR” succeeded to power in the aftermath of an act of terrorism. Youngest of all our chief executives, he rallied a stricken nation with his superhuman energy, charm, and political skills. He proceeded to combat the problems of race and labor relations and trust control while making the Panama Canal possible and winning the Nobel Peace Prize. But his most historic achievement remains his creation of a national conservation policy, and his monument millions of acres of protected parks and forest. Theodore Rex ends with TR leaving office, still only fifty years old, his future reputation secure as one of our greatest presidents.
Amazon.com ReviewIn this lively biography, Edmund Morris returns to the gifted, energetic, and thoroughly controversial man whom the novelist Henry James called "King Theodore." In his two terms as president of the United States, Roosevelt forged an American empire, and he behaved as if it was his destiny. In this sequel to his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Morris charts Roosevelt's accomplishments: the acquisition of the Panama Canal and the Philippines, the creation of national parks and monuments, and more. "Collaring Capital and Labor in either hand," Morris writes, Roosevelt made few friends, but he usually got what he wanted--and earned an enduring place in history. Morris combines a fine command of the era's big issues with an appreciation for the daily minutiae involved in governing a nation. Less controversially inventive, but no less readable, than the Ronald Reagan biography Dutch, Theodore Rex gives readers new reason both to admire and fault an American phenomenon. --Gregory McNamee
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