Customer Reviews

Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography (Dodo Press)

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Outstanding! This book is a tome of philosophy, adventure, intrigue, and above all, inspiration. Notwithstanding these encomia however, the reader should beware before making a hegira into its noble pages that this autobiography does not follow the traditional structure of a "biography." Rather it can be described as being a compendium of T.R.'s philosophy on life. The true strength of its pages being found in how T.R.'s experiences and actions staunchly uphold and support his 'vigor of life' and probity which he so often addressed as being fundamental to all good Americans. Accordingly, I suggest a first-time reader of T.R. would be best served by initially reading a more "objective" biography of T.R. (I suggest Nathan Miller's Theodore Roosevelt, A Life) in order to become familiar with the events and time frames involved. This will allow the reader to more appreciate the nature, values and beliefs of the great man as told in this book by the ultimate authority, himself.

Along with being completely inspired by a man of such high moral values, the factual anecdotes related in this book comfort you in the knowledge that this hero practiced what he preached. In a speech by his own hand, T.R. embodied his own life; "The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;...who strives valiantly...who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat."

T.R. was a naturalist, legislator, cowboy, businessman, soldier, author, conservationist, U.S. President, world explorer, and above all an inspirational "doer of deeds." This book eloquently tells the reader why he felt he needed to perform these deeds and what was going through his mind all the while.

Having read several books about TR, I have heard a lot about his writing. Other than reading some of his letters and quotes in books, I had never read any of his work but picked his autobiography up from a used bookstore. I was looking for the Naval War of 1812, but ended up with this instead. I was not disappointed. Some parts of the book definitely dragged and if your patience for legislative maneuvering prior to 1900 in the New York legislature is limited, you might want to skip to the back half of the book. But what comes through in the book are TR's passions: books, the outdoors, conserving the outdoors, and the Navy.

The first half of the book is essentially told chronologically. But when TR gets to his presidency, he tells the tale thematically. There are chapters on conservation, trust busting and other industrial issues, and two chapters on international affairs. Unfortunately, the book ends with his presidency and does not go into TR's world travels or his comeback bid in 1912. TR's dislike for his hand picked successor, President Taft, permeates the presidency chapters.

As with any autobiography, especially a presidential one, TR views himself as always right and his opponents as always wrong. His views on Taft are a good example of that. But that can hardly be viewed as a failing of the book, since that is a standard characteristic of these types of books.

If you want a first hand view of the man in the arena, what he tried to do and how he tried to lead his life, read the book.

Witty, quirky, profound, lyrical--this is one of the great American memoirs. The 1999 Modern Library and National Review rankers of the 100 great nonfiction books of the 20th century missed the boat on this one.

Easily one of the best books ever written. Roosevelt is an exceptional writer who lived an amazing life. This book not only shares his tale, but shows you the ideals and ethics which drove him. Very inspiring as to the way in which we should all live our lives.

I've loved Theodore Roosevelt since my wonderful 11th-grade American History class 10 years ago. This great President was quite possibly one of the last true Renaissance men: politician yes, but scientist, conservationist, businessman, soldier, and, heavens yes! writer (he published, I have heard, nearly 50 books on many different themes). TR belongs to the end of an era when one could actually aspire to "doing it all," and he succeeded brilliantly.

Teddy's _Autobiography_ is a fun, conversational read. The formatting for the Kindle is good, but not great, and a table of contents would be greatly appreciated.

Theodore Roosevelt's autobiography is interesting and well written. It is far from the best of the TR bios, but what makes it most intriguing is what the author has chosen not to include. TR never mentions his first wife and only in passing are his children mentioned. It is as though wife Alice Lee and daughter Alice did not exist, even though they played a fascinating role in his life.

I love Theodore Rossevelt, but it is no secret that he was a very educated man, much more so than my reading level. I've always wanted to learn his vantage point on his life, so it was a good read, but rather difficult.

I really liked this President, even with some of his aggressive arrogance. He was a great progressive. There is no one like him on the GOP side today. What a shame!

This autobiography covers Roosevelt's life well. His determination and hard worked proved to be the key to overcoming all obstacles in his way. Roosevelt's life was entertaining from his childhood to the presidency. Roosevelt is considered by scholars as one of the greatest United States Presidents.

It is a very long time that I have not read any biography and memoirs, however this book raises my interests in reading biography and memoirs again because this is a great man who can do so much in his life and this book shows some deep insight into politics although I am not familiar with the political figures during that time.