Read to learn how a shy, timid, weak, and sickly child went to become the most powerful man in the world.
How can a book capture a man who is larger than life? You can write thousands of pages and there will be something missing. But The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris comes as close as possible to such an epic undertaking.
I don't give this book 5 stars because it covered America's inner political workings in too much detail while dedicating less to more interesting episodes such as the war in Cuba and Theodore's life after he became President.
I am rambling now. But you cannot write about Theodore Roosevelt without rambling. His life was far from a straight line into political glory. It was all curves and detours, which is what makes him so interesting. Besides being President he was the author of thirty-eight books, natural historian, boxer, hunter, book nerd, war hero, police reformer, governor, cowboy, sheriff, farmer. From shy, asthma-ridden "Teedie" to "President Theodore Roosevelt" -- the man who led America into its most glorious century.
His contradictory personality made him feel at ease anywhere. He felt as comfortable in upper-crust luncheons as spending days in the wild chasing bandits.
"At dawn Roosevelt woke to the hoarse clucking of hundreds of prairie-fowl. Sallying forth with his rifle, he shot five sharptails. “It was not long before two of the birds, plucked and cleaned, were split open and roasted before the fire. And to me they seemed like the most delicious food.” Exactly one month before he had been campaigning on the platform of Chickering Hall in New York, twisting his eyeglasses, catching bouquets, and blushing under the admiring gaze of bejeweled society matrons."
I can see why modern palates would find him distasteful. He was a stubborn expansionist. But Roosevelt can vindicate himself even in this questionable pursuit. Unlike contemporary politicians, he was the first one to ride into the war he so fiercely encouraged.
He was also one of the first major politicians who campaigned against Jewish persecution, believed in equal opportunities regardless of color, and "remained acutely aware of the needs and sensibilities of women".
But men greater than life share the same woes as everyone else. He has insecurities like everyone else. He confessed to his closest confidants that he thought his career in politics was over before even becoming governor.
"I have not believed and do not believe that I shall ever be likely to come back into political life."
Despite descending from an affluent family he had money problems and severe doubts as to "what the future holds for him".
"I am afraid it is too big a task for me [writing a book]. I wonder if I won't find everything in life too big for my abilities."
His intense physical regimen philosophy laid out America's obsession with fitness and muscularity more than half a century before Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped foot in the country. Millions emulated his "strenuous life" and voluntarily sought physical discomfort for self-improvement.
Theodore Roosevelt was more than a President. And The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris lays him out better than any other book.
Key takeaways
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Action is at the core of self-actualization.
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You can bend life to your own will.
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Voluntary discomfort will improve your life.