Customer Reviews

Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this book after reading the Pulitzer-Prize winning "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt", another excellent biography of TR. When I started "Mornings On Horseback", I felt that I was armed with more information about this President than I had going into "Rise"; however, once I completed "Mornings", I realized that I was armed with an entirely different type of knowledge. David McCullough gets us into the Roosevelt house and makes the people in TR's life come alive. "Nurture" is a vital componant of anyone's development and in this book, one sees just how family shapes a great personality such as his. To truly understand TR from a historical perspective one must examine his roots. This book is a joy to read, very informative and well-paced.

McCullough has done another outstanding job with this book. I first read McCullough's Pulitzer winning bio on Truman. The only flaw with this view on Teddy is that I WISH IT WERE AS LONG AS THE ONE ON TRUMAN!!! He's done an excellent job as a story-teller, yet from the bibliography, you can see that he has done the necessary research to make this a first rate study on Roosevelt's early life.

Following this, I've read "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt", by Edmund Morris. Yes, he is the same gentleman who recently penned "Dutch: A memoir of Ronald Reagan". While "Rise" was given a Pulitzer, like McCullough's bio of Truman, I must say that it didn't "set" as well with me as this one. While both stop roughly mid-life for Teddy (early life to pre-Presidency), I judge "Mornings" to be the superior work. The level of detail in "Mornings", and the overall readability of the prose struck me as superior.

As an aside, I have just currently read "TR: The Last Romantic" and while this is an engaging book and not as hero-worshipping as either Morris or McCullough, the book's reliance on almost all TR quotes, or a slight few that are related to TR, becomes jarring.

All told, if you have a young son or daughter who has great potential and you'd like to set before them a shining example of a fine American; physically, mentally, and spiritually, then there is not a finer book I could recommend than McCullough's "Mornings on Horseback".

David McCullough is a master at revealing history as it truly took place, and people as they truly were. His account of Teddy Roosevelt's remarkably innocent childhood debunks the myths that have long clouded Roosevelt biographies. While TR would grow to be a fearless Rough Rider and a President who took on corporate monopolies, he began his life as a pathetically weak, asthmatic boy clammering for his parents' attention. It was through the love, rather demanding at times, of Roosevelt's wonderfully demonstrative father that Teddy grew into his tough adult self. Mornings on Horseback challenges the notion that yesterday was more idyllic than today. Though Roosevelt had a close family, they did not remain unscathed by the Civil War, nor by illnesses that have since fled the earth. Throughout it all, it was their sense of family, as well as their great self-motivation to improve the lot of the world, that pushed them beyond misfortune. McCullough is a patient historian. He does not abide by myths, or falsehoods. His prying beneath the historical record is done with sound tools of investigation. Throughout it all, his voice is so entrancing, and his capture of detail so intricate, that we come to feel that we truly understand his subjects. When they are tossed about by fate, we regard their misfortunes with empathy. McCullough knows how to make history as readable as fiction.

Although not one of David Mc McCullough's best, it is an interesting story of Teddy Roosevelt's family, his childhood and his adventuresome life leading up to his ascent to the Presidency when William McKinley was assassinated in 1901.

This is not your typical Presidential historical novel, rather it is a historical account of the Theodore and Mittie Roosevelt Family, their son Teddy, and the various members of Teddy Roosevelt's close family and how his relationship with his parents, siblings and cousins shaped his upbringing. The book gives the reader an insight into Teddy Roosevelt's rather serious health problems and particularly his struggles with asthma. It discusses his upper class childhood and travels, his Harvard College education, early courtship and marriage, business ventures and his forays into early political life in New York City. The book illustrates how Teddy Roosevelt's character was shaped early on by his mother to whom he was very close and by the examples and expectations of his father, Theodore Roosevelt.

Having hoped this was a more typical Presidential historical book I was somewhat disappointed, but overall the story was interesting. I enjoyed the book.

Any biography of a national leader will dwell on the achievements and/or blunders of his/her career. David McCullough, one of our premiere biographers, has taken a different and intriguing tack in his book, "Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt". This is a biography of Theodore Roosevelt before he reached any high office, before becoming New York's Chief of Police, before becoming Vice President, before becoming President.

But what's more fascinating is that it is also the story of the Roosevelt family and its closest friends. The characteristics of these people and how they shaped a lot of Roosevelt's personality and outlook are drawn out exquisitely by McCullough. I had never known how much his parents had influenced him, and how hard he took their sudden deaths, as well as the untimely death of his young wife. Surrounded by wealth and advantage, Theodore Roosevelt could not seem escape the ever-present aura of death. His own delicate health--asthma, digestive disorders, etc.--was also a reminder of the sudden end that could come to us all.

What this did, remarkably as McCullough points out, was fill young Teddy Roosevelt with a hunger for life, nature, and knowledge--and this hunger would shape his adulthood. While the book SEEMS to end abruptly, in reality McCullough had given us what his title had promised, a story of the "Unique Child" who became one of America's greatest presidents. "Mornings on Horseback" is a fabulous biography from one of our best writers. I highly recommend it.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points

This book is not only a personal biography of Teddy Roosevelt, but also a social analysis of the period in which this great man grew and developed into the man/icon he became. The exploration of the times and the people who shaped the figure who "spoke softly and carried a big stick" is indepth and intimate. As a particular avid history buff, I enjoyed it throughly!!

David McCullough's Mornings on Horseback is one of the more intimate of McCullough's works on America's overlooked historical figures. Much has been written on Teddy Roosevelt the President, but little on Roosevelt the boy. McCullough fills that scholarly void by analyzing the early life of Teddy Roosevelt and the family, events, and upbringing that molded him into one of America's finest Presidents.

Heavily researched and making vast use of both Roosevelt's personal writings and those of his family, McCullough brings the Roosevelt family to life, painting vivid portraits not only of TR, but of his father Theodore Sr., mother Mittie, brother Eliot, and sisters Bamie and Corrine. We learn how much Roosevelt senior meant to the family and the moral, ethical, and social standards that he challenged his children to follow, as well as the bond that held this unique family together. We learn of TR's love of nature, incessant curiousity for all things, and stubborn will that pushed him to mental and physical extremes. We also glimpse his life at Harvard and his early years in politics. Indeed, the more we read, the more we begin to understand the greatness of the man, and ultimately his Presidency.

McCullough's works are consistently good. His writing style is elegant and flows beautifully, and he has a gift of making history come alive. This is a wonderful book that ends with Roosevelt at 27, leaving the rest of TR's life to other authors. This book is a must for anyone who wants to have a deeper understanding of the man, and hopefully McCullough will one day write a book that completes the story of Teddy Roosevelt that he so elegantly has begun.

This is a wonderful and beautiful story not just of a young TR, but of the entire Roosevelt family. I read the book in a couple of days and could not put it down. It was a well written story of a unique family. Well done to Mr. McCullough.

I repeat my review to link it to my new Amazon account:

This book offers something new to the history of Theodore Roosevelt: The reader gets a close look at the environment and family life that shaped and molded this great leader. After reading this book you will have new insight into seeing why T.R. acted as he did. The author mentions in the preface that he was told by a relative of T.R. that the one thing all the other bigraphies and books on the Roosevelts lacked was seeing how the family was part of a clan - that this was indeed a huge influence on T.R. This book will show you what this means. Mr. McCullough is a brilliant and entertaining author. This book will also be enjoyable for those of you who enjoyed him in the Presidents series on PBS.

Highly Recommended

Mornings on Horseback, by David G. McCullough, describes the life of Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th and youngest ever President.
In this book, Mr. McCullough vividly describes young Teddy's growing up years and his close-knit family. An avid reader, Theodore especially liked to read books on history and the sciences. Biology was his lifetime hobby; from his youngest years to his White House days he studied plants and animals, kept vast collections, and simply enjoyed the outdoors. One wonders why he didn't become a biologist, his knowledge and delight of botany and zoology so great.
Shortly before graduating fomr Harvard University in 1880, he married Alice Lee. During his four years with her, he dabbled in Republican politics until tragedy struck: Alice died two days after the birth of their daughter; on the same day, Theodore's mother died of typhoid fever.
Utterly devastated, he left politics for the open plains of the Dakota Territory. He bought two ranches in what is now North Dakota; somehow, the hard life eased his sorrow.
At the request of the Republican Party, he returned to New York City in 1886 to run for mayor: he was defeated. However, soon after, he married a childhood friend, Edith Carow. During their 30+ years of marriage, they had five children.
He returned to politics and within several years went from Civil Service Commissioner to Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In 1900, he became William McKinley's running mate and was thrust into the Presidency after the assassination of the newly-inaugurated President. He went on to serve two terms as President.
Mr. McCullough does not go into extensive detail to describe T.R.'s political life. His book seems to be mainly focused on him and his family; he describes Theodore's family and relatives, focuses somewhat on his father's political career, but gives a cursory description of his own. However, it really delves into T.R.'s person life; I especially enjoyed the unedited writings by him, for there are many diary entries, letters and other quotations included in this book. This is a great biography on Theodore Roosevelt.