Theodore Roosevelt
A Literary Life
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- $29.99
Publisher Description
Of all the many biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, none has presented the twenty-sixth president as he saw himself: as a man of letters. This fascinating account traces Roosevelt’s lifelong engagement with books and discusses his writings from childhood journals to his final editorial, finished just hours before his death. His most famous book, The Rough Riders—part memoir, part war adventure—barely begins to suggest the dynamism of his literary output. Roosevelt read widely and deeply, and worked tirelessly on his writing. Along with speeches, essays, reviews, and letters, he wrote history, autobiography, and tales of exploration and discovery. In this thoroughly original biography, Roosevelt is revealed at his most vulnerable—and his most human.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Literary scholars Bailey and Joslin take an initially intriguing but largely unsatisfying look at Theodore Roosevelt's literary career. The authors cite Roosevelt's prolific output he authored or coauthored nearly 50 books but fail to make a case for him as a stylist or as a lasting influence on other writers. Ideas the authors touch on that might serve as a unifying theme in Roosevelt's work, such as efforts to develop an "American-American" literary voice, are not well-defined or thoroughly explored. The authors do gather a wide collection of assessments from Roosevelt's famous contemporaries, including Henry James (who, stung by Roosevelt's portrayal of him as effeminate, called the other's writing "impaired for intelligible precept by the puerility of his simplifications"), H.G. Wells, and Walt Whitman. The lukewarm critical response that Roosevelt received from reviewers of his day is only marginally corrected by Bailey and Joslin's reassessment. The authors describe key titles, like The Naval War of 1812 and Through the Brazilian Wilderness, as, respectively, "still readable, and at times enjoyable," and "workmanlike and informative." The faint praise throughout leaves the impression that, despite the many titles to Roosevelt's name, his biggest impact on literature was the expansion of copyright protection signed into law at the end of his tenure as president.
