T.R., Again: 2 Reviews

Posted on March 20, 2008
Filed Under 19th Century History, Gilded Age, Teddy Roosevelt |

What is it about Teddy Roosevelt that is so entrancing to so many people?  Was it his masculinity?  Was it his devotion to the progressive cause?  Was it his America-first attitude?  Or was it just an effective P.R. machine?

Today, I want to review two books.  The first one you’ve read if you’re a fan of T.R.;  if not, go get it now.  David McCullough’s Mornings on Horseback is, in my mind, probably the most interesting account of T.R.’s life.  McCullough manages, in Mornings on Horseback, to bring T.R. and his day into focus for the modern reader.  Focusing on T.R.’s family and his childhood in New York, McCullough gives us a picture of a more vulnerable and more human Teddy Roosevelt. McCullough is a masterful storyteller, and his biographical works stand out among every other biography written in the last thirty years.  McCullough writes in such a way that the average reader can enjoy herself.  At the same time, Mornings on Horseback contains enough detailed research that the professional historian can learn something useful, as well.

I mention Mornings on Horseback, mainly, because I think you need to have a good grasp on the narrative of T.R.’s life if you are to really understand the man.  The narrative, in T.R.’s case, isn’t enough, however.  Just as you can’t understand Reagan without listening to his speeches, you can’t truly understand T.R. without seeing pictures of him.  This is why I am delighted to tell you about Stacey A. Cordey’s latest compilation, Historic Photos of Theodore Roosevelt.  Part of a series of historic photo books on presidents from Turner Publishing, this volume has more than 200 photographs of T.R.  Here we see T.R. at his finest:  chopping wood, celebrating an elephant kill, leading the Rough Riders and giving speeches.

Yet, in Historic Photos of Theodore Roosevelt, Cordery gives us much more than the man’s man image of T.R.  She shows Roosevelt holding his children and grandchildren, visiting sewing factories where he advocated for workers’ rights, and many other real-life images.  She also brings out an image of T.R. that reminds us he was born of wealth and privilege, and was as comfortable in a tuxedo as he was in his Rough Rider uniform.  If nothing else, it is the juxtaposition of these contrasting elements of T.R.’s personality that makes Historic Photos of Theodore Roosevelt worth the read. 

It may well be this same juxtaposition that makes T.R. himself so interesting.  Certainly, it is the appeal of both of these volumes;  When you combine these two works you’re likely to walk away with a very different picture of T.R. than you came in with.

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