Books › The rise of Theodore Roosevelt
The rise of Theodore Roosevelt
First published 1979 · 920 pages
An exhilarating, larger-than-life portrait of relentless ambition that reads more like a breathless adventure novel than a historical biography.
What it feels like
Reading this biography feels like trying to keep pace with a human hurricane. The narrative is incredibly propulsive, sweeping you from the gaslit parlors of Gilded Age New York to the rugged, unforgiving landscapes of the Dakota Badlands, and finally up the chaotic slopes of San Juan Hill. Morris writes with a cinematic flair that perfectly matches his subject's boundless, almost exhausting exuberance. The prose is rich, witty, and deeply immersive, transforming meticulous historical research into a thrilling adventure story. It is a book about the sheer force of will and the conscious forging of a persona. Readers who love sweeping, character-driven epics will find themselves completely absorbed by this triumphant, larger-than-life journey from a fragile, asthmatic childhood to the pinnacle of American power.
- Mood
- exuberant
- sweeping
- adventurous
- triumphant
- Tone
- energetic
- admiring
- cinematic
- witty
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- the forging of character · relentless ambition · overcoming physical frailty · the romance of the American frontier · intellect meeting action
- The writing
- Richly detailed and highly narrative, blending rigorous historical scholarship with the pacing and flair of a great Victorian novel.
- The arc
- Moves from the fragile vulnerability of a sickly childhood to an unstoppable, almost mythic crescendo of personal and political triumph.
- Who it's for
- History buffs and lovers of sweeping epics who crave character-driven narratives about larger-than-life figures.
Content notes
- animal death and hunting
- war violence
- childhood illness
- grief and loss of a spouse
About the book
Biography of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, detailing his life from birth (1858) to his ascendancy to the Presidency (1901). This is the first book in Edmund Morris's trilogy on Roosevelt (followed by Theodore Rex and Colonel Roosevelt). It won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Bibliography or Autobiography and the 1980 National Book Award in Biography.
Description from Open Library.
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