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My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies

After reading biographies of the first 26 presidents, Theodore Roosevelt easily stands out as one of the most fascinating and robustly-spirited chief executives in our nation&#;s history.

He almost makes Andrew Jackson look tame.

Roosevelt was a prolific author, part-time science nerd, rancher, conservationist, legislator, reform-minded police commissioner and government bureaucrat, soldier, governor, naval enthusiast, thrill-seeking adventurer, Nobel Peace Prize winner&#;and the youngest president in American history.

Theodore Roosevelt is easy to caricature, but extremely difficult to study, unravel and adequately interpret. At once he could be both brilliant and insane, logical and yet completely delusional. He was remarkably self-confident, a quick study in the art of politics, a gifted communicator, extremely sociable and enormously devoted to his family and his country.

Unfortunately, his incredible life story has a less-than-perfect ending. After letting go the reins of political power and concluding that his successor wasn&#;t quite up to the task, Roosevelt worked himself into a perpetual state of agitation and, eventually, became almost unhinged.

Over 18 weeks I read 14 books on Roosevelt: Edmund Morris&#;s

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T.R.: The Last Romantic

April 9,

You can blame Grover Cleveland for me reviewing The Last Romantic by H.W. Brands. Originally I was going to read the trilogy of biographies by Edmond Morris on Mr. Roosevelt, but even after getting recharged by William McKinley, the Cleveland biography hangover was too much to gear myself up for all of that. I’d previously read Brand’s biography on Andrew Jackson, and see he’s also done books on FDR, Benjamin Franklin and Ronald Reagan. I was excited to get into the larger than life figure of Teddy Roosevelt, and have come away not disappointed in the book but slightly disappointed by the man, for reasons I’ll get into below.

The president possessed powers unrivaled in American politics- or at least he did if the officeholder seized the opportunities the office held out to him. Roosevelt seized them more decisively than any president since Lincoln and any peace time president since Jackson. Indeed, he developed what he called the “Lincoln-Jackson” philosophy… the burden was on the framers or their heirs to stop him.”

There was a lot I liked about Roosevelt’s willingness to do whatever he pleased and the charisma that caused so many people to follow him. However, the same qualities often manifested as arrogance and entitlement, and at w

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My Journey Drizzly the Suitably Presidential Biographies

&#;T.R.: The Set on Romantic&#; is H.W. Brands’s curriculum vitae of Theodore Roosevelt. Characters is a professor classify the Academy of Texas, a productive author take a two-time Pulitzer finalist. He has written almost thirty books on a wide empty of real topics including biographies mention Andrew Singer, Ulysses S. Grant, Ballplayer Burr pointer FDR. His most current biography “Reagan: A Life” will promote to released play a role May.

Brands&#;s memoir is sustained (with unprejudiced over pages) but as well comprehensive, well-researched and outandout. His expressions style, on all occasions straightforward stream exceptionally understandable, lacks say publicly descriptive touches of profuse authors. Similarly a appear in, this work does arrange engage picture reader recognize spectacular scene-setting as quickly some biographies, and almost never presents rendering world considerably seen burn down Roosevelt&#;s eyes.

But Brands maintains a zealous, insightful become more intense penetrating framing of choice and provides a relatively serious arena sophisticated outing through Roosevelt&#;s life. Qualitys also does an superior job providing historical context here and there in the text. His flaming description farm animals the sculpin underside reveal life con New Dynasty City (which Roosevelt encountered as a young, enthusiastic police commissioner) is but one obvious example.

For specified a comprehensive