207 of 214 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"When the wolf rises in the heart...", March 16, 2002
Theodore Roosevelt... Harvard graduate, historian, New York state assemblyman; rancher, Civil Service Commissioner, New York City Police Commissioner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy; Commanding officer of the "Rough Riders;" war hero; Governor of New York; Vice President, and then President of the United States. All of these accomplishments by the time this extraordinary man reached 42 years of age. Theodore Roosevelt's historical achievements are indeed most impressive!
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt," biographer Edmund Morris masterfully chronicles the life of this mercurial, complex, and paradoxical man who became the 26th President of the United States.
Morris's brilliant narrative depicts Theodore Roosevelt as a man who towered over his world. Yet who would have guessed at future greatness for this, the oldest son of one of New York's wealthiest and most respected families? A sickly child, afflicted with constant bouts of asthma and chronic diarrhea, he is seen by his parents as a child "with the mind, but not the body..." for high achievement. But the young Roosevelt senses his own potential for greatness and resolves to strive mightily to achieve it...
Throughout his life, TR is a man of many paradoxes. Largely self-educated, he eventually attends Harvard University, from which he graduates magna cum laude in 1880 with a Phi Beta Kappa key in one hand and a membership in Porcellain, Harvard's most prestigious social club, in the other. The son of a wealthy philanthropist, he eschews the traditional, genteel, upper-class lifestyle in favor of the rough-and-tumble of New York politics. A member of the Republican party, he champions progressive reform. By age 26, he has served two terms in the New York state assembly; has earned the begrudging respect of his colleagues; and has authored several significant pieces of reform legislation.
After the death of his first wife, Alice Lee Hathaway Roosevelt, and his mother, Mittie (both women die on the same day, in the same house) TR flees New York, heading to the harsh, uncompromising Dakota Badlands to earn his living as a cattle rancher and writer of history books. Here, in this barren country, a startling transformation takes place. The thin, sickly youth of sallow skin and frail constitution becomes the muscular, tanned, robustly healthy man known to history.
"The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" vividly demonstrates how this intensely energetic politician used his forceful personality in the cause of badly needed reform at all levels of American government. As Morris points out, Roosevelt puts his personal stamp on nearly everything he undertakes. As Civil Service Commissioner during the Harrison administration, he publicly - some say bumptiously - investigates claims of graft and corruption within the Civil Service. He alienates many colleagues, but achieves lasting results. During his tenure, the Civil Service expands dramatically, despite fierce political opposition. The same holds true for TR's tenures as president of the New York City Police Commission (1895-97) and Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1897-98.)
In 1898 a series of unexpected events propels TR to national prominence. When war breaks out between the United States and Spain, TR asks for and receives commission in the New York National Guard. Soon he has assembled a tough group of cavalrymen called the "Rough Riders" - friends from his days at Harvard and in the old west. On July 1, 1898, TR and his grizzled band of soldiers will enter the pantheon of American heroes at a place in Cuba called San Juan Hill...
After the Spanish-American War, TR returns to New York and runs for Governor. After a tough, closely fought campaign that features former "Rough Riders" endorsing their candidate, TR is elected by a razor-thin margin of 18,000 votes out of nearly 1.1. million votes cast. TR will only spend a year in the governor's mansion, though. By 1900, New York's "old pols" have had enough of Roosevelt's attempts to force progressive reforms through a recalcitrant, conservative New York legislature. Considering TR "too dangerous" to keep on as governor, they make an arrangement to get Roosevelt on the national ticket. McKinley agrees, and an Roosevelt enthusiastically becomes McKinley's running mate.
In November 1900, McKinley easily wins re-election and Theodore Roosevelt becomes Vice President of the United States. Ten months later, on September 6, 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, President William McKinley is gunned down by a young anarchist...
Not since I read William Manchester's two-volume "The Last Lion" biography of Winston Churchill have I read a book that's as good as "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt." Make no mistake: this book is as good as biography gets! Here is the powerfully eloquent story of one of the most gifted and controversial men of the twentieth century, and perhaps even of all time.
"The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" reads almost like a novel. I haven't found a single part of this book that I would classify as "dry" or boring. In fact I found it pretty hard to put down once I started reading it. Part of the reason for that, I suppose, is because TR's life was so darned fascinating to begin with; but give Edmund Morris his due. He has told the story of Theodore Roosevelt with tremendous style and panache.
"The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" is a fair and balanced biography, although Edmund Morris displays an obvious affection for his subject. Morris combines an intellectually stimulating and literate historical narrative with brilliantly insightful historical analysis. Roosevelt's less attractive qualities - his impulsiveness, his emotionalism, and his attempts at self glorification among others - all receive full coverage in this masterful book.
Edmund Morris has written an extremely readable, highly entertaining, and factually sound biography. In "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt," he completely captures the essence of this towering early twentieth century figure, making him totally relevant to today's readers. "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" is a biography that's indeed very well worth reading!
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54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Just a Great Biography, But a Work of Art, June 25, 2002
Edmund Morris's "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" is a magnificent biography, perhaps the best I've ever read. In it, Morris follows the life of Theodore Roosevelt from his birth in a New York City brownstone in 1858 to his assumption of the U.S. Presidency in 1901. The book is the first of three volumes Morris plans to write on Roosevelt, the second of which --"Theodore Rex" -- was released last year.
In more than 700 pages of text in this book, there is hardly a dull page. The main reason for this, of course, is TR's fascinating, energetic life. He was -- in no particular order -- an amateur naturalist of note, a decorated soldier, an historian, a rancher in the Badlands, a government officer pushing for reform in the civil service, Police Commissioner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, a state assemblyman, New York's Governor, and finally Vice President. It would be difficult to write a dull book about such a man.
But Morris deserves some credit as well. I've read several other biographies of Roosevelt, and while many of them are quite good -- even great -- this is the best. I believe Morris's style as well as his control of the material is the best explanation for this. Much of the writing is beautiful. Even Morris doesn't approach it in his other books.
But here Morris shows a poet's gift for metaphor and simile. In explaining how reserved, emotionally stunted men like Henry Adams, Thomas Reed, and Henry Cabot Lodge put up socially with the rambunctious Roosevelt, Morris writes they "...grew dependent upon [Roosevelt's] warmth, as lizards crave the sun." There are numerous examples like this in the book.
While "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" should probably be described as a political or historical biography, one doesn't need to have the slightest interest in either to enjoy it. Roosevelt's own ambition and energy, the circumstances of his life, and Morris's writing will drive anyone's interest.
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70 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As Theodore Roosevelt would have said it: "Dee-lightful!", January 19, 2000
This review is from: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Paperback)
This is a supurb researched biography of one of the most colorful, revered presidents of the 20th century. For anyone who has unfortunately grown cynical and tired of the political and social cliched diatribe of today's political figures and political system, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt will change all that and bring forth a new appreciation for what man and woman can achieve in government when they have conviction, determination and plain old guts. What makes this book so appealing is that it focuses not on TR's presidency, but rather it explores TR's youth, family upbringing and hobbies as well as his formative years with the famed Rough Riders... It also delves into the tragedies that he incurred on his path to presidential greatness, i.e. the death of his first wife and mother on the same day of two different causes. Morris does a splendid job detailing TR's time with Tammany Hall and Harvard, his joy of writing and literature as well as athletics. The language that Mr. Morris uses is immediate, personal and inviting, giving off a permeating aura that TR is looming over the reader's shoulder. Whenever I have failed with something and don't believe that I can rise from it, I think of TR and say to myself: "If TR can do it, so can I."
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