Average Americans

Average Americans gathers Theodore Roosevelt's wartime letters into a fierce, intimate portrait of patriotism under strain. Speaking as a father, citizen, and reformer, Roosevelt praises the courage of soldiers while condemning delay, inefficiency, and political interference at home, insisting that America meet World War I with energy, honesty, and resolve. His candid reflections on national duty, identity, and the impossibility of "choosing" another country reveal a mind torn between disappointment and unshaken loyalty. Alongside Roosevelt's urgent commentary, the book turns to the front lines, where trench warfare is rendered in all its silence, darkness, and fear. A battalion rushes toward the threatened front during the German offensive, passing French refugees and shattered countryside before facing shelling, raids, and costly counterattacks. In these accounts of trench raiding, prisoners, battlefield trophies, and confused night operations, humor and camaraderie coexist with death and exhaustion. From Montdidier to Cantigny, the narrative captures the hard lessons of combat, the sacrifice of men like Lieutenant Freml, and the growing resolve of a nation preparing for war's aftermath. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.