Any TR Fans?

Any TR fans out there? Belatedly, I just got around to reading The River of Doubt. I've been kicking myself for waiting so long. Candice Millard is an excellent writer and I want to take nothing away from her. But I find EVERY TR book I read fascinates me. It's more than the writing; it's the person. What an incredible guy. Cannot wait for Edmund Morris' final book.

I've read the two Edmund Morris bios of TR, I didn't know he was putting out a third one. That's great news.

Also on my shelf, ready to read sometime if I get around to it (ha!) is When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt After the White House

I'm looking forward to learning more about TR - I just downloaded The River of Doubt audio file, and have just recently added Theodore Rex to my bookshelf - but haven't yet gotten to either. I've heard good things about River of Doubt!

bfertig

You'll enjoy River of Doubt. Imagine it'd be quite good as an audio-book. The author does an excellent job of scene-setting. Makes you feel like you're there.
Enjoy.

Steiac

I have read David McCullough Mornings by Horseback and enjoyed it. I plan to read read others as well. I am also planning on reading some the books by Theodore Roosevelt

Has anyone heard anything about when the final Morris installment will come out?

What a coincidence that I should notice this thread. I just started reading River of Doubt today. Glad to read positive feedback on it.

Read River of Doubt very recently. Great book on multiple levels. Currently almost through with Four Hats in the Ring by Gould, a study of the 1912 election in which T.R. attempted to re-take the Presidency as an independant. Fascinating history presented in a rather uninspiring way by a somewhat bland writer, it remains worth reading, if only for the unusually critical eye it casts on Roosevelt, who appears here as someone whose ego has lost sight of the consequences as he splits his party with the knowledge from the start that the only likely outcome short of a miracle will be Wilson's election. This interests me especially because while I am no fan of Taft I believe that Wilson was a disaster as a US President and it is this election that delivered him to us.

I've been working my way through T.R.: The Last Romantic, slow going. I recently just picked up River of Doubt, maybe I should switch.

Made it halfway thru T.R.: The Last Romantic before putting it aside. I think it gets more interesting later so I intend to return it, because it is well written. River of Doubt has no slow-moving sections -- you will inhale it, I promise!

Ever since reading The Alienist by Caleb Carr I have wanted to learn more about T. R. to find out if his personality was anythin like it was represented there.

Garp

Why do you feel Wilson was a disaster? Thanks

I agree with Garp. A really good resource on Wilson is Thomas Fleming's The Illusion of Victory.

Nbmars

I am with you and GARP. There is just so much of Wilson's record that is disagreeable, I just wonder which parts specifically have soured you on him?

It's hard to pick a most disagreeable feature of Wilson (unless you can include his totally unqualified wife trying to run the government after his stroke). And I would feel obliged to ignore the part about lying to the American people, since that seems to be so common among presidents as to be almost a qualification! I would have to go with his various priggish prejudices, extended to include his egregious white-supremacist racism. What particularly galls me is that the very important bridge over the Potomac River that is the center of daily existence for so many in the D.C./Md./Virginia area is unfortunately named the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. (Of course this is the same area in which you can find Surrattsville High and Samuel Mudd Elementary, and where Md. Rep. Steny Hoyer fought for Congress to set aside Dr. Mudd's conviction for killing Lincoln.) But I suppose we're way off topic now! :--)

I seem to recall that Wilson destroyed all the headway that African Americans had made since the Civil War in obtaining positions in the civil service and postal service by pretty much banning them from employment.

That Steny is quite a guy.

I read Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough earlier this year and just finished Theodore Roosevelt: A Life by Nathan Miller...

Thoroughly enjoyed both... Mornings on Horseback was excellent easy read about TR's earlier years and Miller's TR was a captivating one volume story of his entire life. (I am a big McCullough fan having read 1776, The Great Bridge, and have John Adams on my candidate shelf)

TR was an exceptional man- his constant energy, resilience, courage and persistence are inspirational. Also found it interesting that there is so often bad along with the good- he was human, and despite the limitations and bad choices, made a significant contribution to the Presidency, US, and the world.

Great to find others that are interested... I am planning to go to the house he was born in, in NYC and revisit Sagamore Hill.

Am considering which next book to read... possibly River of Darkness (really enjoy Explorer books, and obvious interest in TR) or possibly one of the books about other Roosevelts- maybe Alice, FDR, or Eleanor... Thoughts?

Thanks to all for their messages- very interesting.

I am planning on reading more about TR, but what is it that caused such a big rift between him and Taft?

This is a link to a Wiki article about the split between Taft and TR:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft#Party_schism

I just started "1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs - The Election That Changed the Country" which is supposedly going to address the issue of the Taft and TR rift. It was a New York Times Notable Book and got a lot of good reviews.

For othere information on Theodore Roosevelt you can read Path Between the Seas. While it is not exclusively about Theodore Roosevelt it does talk about his involvement in the building of the Panama Canal

I have to say that River of Doubt gave me a whole new appreciation of TR - not as a president but as a person. It is quite an amazing story. It sounds like, however, it wasn't so easy for a son growing up with a dad like that!

I lost track of this thread. Sorry. There was a lot of interesting discussion going on ... I read both River of Doubt and 1912 -- River of Doubt was outstanding! I learned a lot about the election from 1912 but the writing was uninspiring.

I dislike Wilson so because he unjustly crushed civil liberties during World War I with little or no justification. We were a much freer society under FDR during WWII when our national survival really was at stake. Wilson's "counter-terrorism" programs make "W" look like a liberal ...

I read and completed The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and am finding TR's character to be very interesting. There is a new book by James Bradley, which may not put Roosevelt in a very good light. I also saw a copy of The Rough Riders and may check that one out.