I learned so much about Theodore Roosevelt as a man, husband, president, and father in The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris that I purchased the second book in the series, Theodore Rex, and even learned more about the history of our great nation, the United States.
I loved learning more about Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee, Alabama, and how Roosevelt consulted with this influential leader. Roosevelt was the first president to entertain a Black man in the White House at a private dinner, and I pictured the president extending an olive branch to someone who, in the early 1900s, may not have been well received in the legislature, much less in the president’s personal home.
Morris is a master at chronology and organization. I especially appreciated the well-organized and in-depth index for future reference to specific topics, so I didn’t have to flip through numerous pages to find a citation.
Also noteworthy is how Roosevelt is credited with making the Panama Canal possible and implementing a national conservation policy that provided millions of acres of protected forests and parks for future generations to enjoy.
My favorite tidbit that I learned in this biography was that John Muir did not have much of a musical ear for bird sounds and was therefore more of a Wordsworthian naturalist. In contrast, the Keatsian Roosevelt reveled in the sounds of bird music. Highly discriminating in tones and pitches, the president could pick up the slightest indication of a thrush or a warbling vireo and dissect the nuances of rhythmic switches.
If you like historical biographies, narratives, and learning more about the presidents of the United States or about American history, Theodore Rex may be an excellent choice, as well as his earlier biography, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. Other insightful historical reads include The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs and Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life, by C. S. Lewis. If you also enjoy historical fiction, I recommend The Women, The Nightingale, The Great Alone, and The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah; and Alaska by James A. Michener.
