Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic account of TR's early life
Review: Morris deserved all the accolades he recieved for this work. This is easily the best biography I have ever read, the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's life is one of those no work of fiction can match.
Rating:
Summary: As Good As It Gets
Review: Edmund Morris, originally contracted to write the biography of Teddy Roosevelt's life, found so much material in his pre-presidential life that he fashioned an entire, amazing book from it (Morris also has difficulty "ending" his writing projects).Great biographies manage to both give you insight into the subject but also illustrate the times, and Morris does a phenomenal job of both. He colorfully describes TR's private and public lives, including the death of his first wife, his stint as NYC Police Commissioner, his journeys to the Badlands, and his time as Secretary of the Navy. Through first hand accounts we are made to really understand Roosevelt and his mannerisms, his moods, and his passion. Morris is able to connect all of the varied aspects of TR's life -- his environmentalism, his war-like impulses, his reformer nature. This is a vivid, compelling biography that gives you the measure of a great, great man. Morris is not a prolific writer, but he is a gifted one.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for the expert or the novice
Review: Morris has recently come into the spotlight for his controversial biography of Ronald Reagan, but this is the better and more readable book. Morris provides just enough introductory material for the novice and he balances it with in-depth TR coverage for those who crave a more detailed analysis. Morris examines TR's two marriages, his strained and neurotic relationship with daughter Alice and his relationship with his children. This is the strong area of the book, his analysis of TR's professional life (though adequate) is not revelatory or definitive. He does, however, come up with much interesting and new information on TR's warmongering stance in World War I and the death of his youngest son, Quentin, in that war. If you know little about TR, this is a great introduction. If you already love him, you will savor this book.
Rating:
Summary: One of the finest biographies I've read.
Review: Although Mr. Morris goes into minute and somtimes mundane details of TR's life, I was never bored. Mr. Morris had, of course one on the most extrodinary characters in our history to work with. TR amazed his contemporaries & still captivates us a century later. He is a giant & it's very obvious how far we & our leaders today have fallen from his standards. Morris does not cheerlead for TR. But recounting his early life points the direction that even the people of his own time saw. This was the making of one the greatest Americans of all time. This is a 12 year old book but still the finest biography of Theodore Roosevelt I have read. I too eagerly await the second volume.
Rating:
Summary: As Theodore Roosevelt would have said it: "Dee-lightful!"
Review: 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."
Rating:
Summary: A rousing read!
Review: This was the first book I read about TR, and I must say that I found it to be inspiring. This book certainly champions TR's escapades and many accomplishments. If you want a good long book to stir your enthusiasm for politics, faithfulness, honesty, virtue, and courage you must read this book. You are guaranteed to see TR as an engaging character no matter what your political affiliation! If after you are done, you can't wait to read more about TR you should consider reading T.W. Brands the Last Romantic to complete the story of TR's life.
Rating:
Summary: Facinating Life- Interesting Book
Review: Out of all of our Presidents Theodore Roosevelt may have had the most interesting life- the son of a prominent New Yorker, he lost his wife after she gave birth to their child and fled to North Dakota to become a rancher. He returned to become U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, NYC's Police Chief, UnderSecretary of the Navy, hero of the Spanish-American War, Governor of New York, and then Vice-President and President. TR's life is all here. Morris takes the reader through his life all the way to his assent to the Presidency. Morris' prose is quite readable. The reader gets a sense, early on, that this is not your typical biography but something different- a narrative on the life of a great leader as opposed to a meticulous analysis of his upbringing. Morris is often vauge on what makes TR tick, but does an excellant job telling us what TR did. Very good.
Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for "Theodore Rex"!
Review: In 1998 when the Monica Lewinsky story broke I was despondent and fed up with politics and politicians. A friend suggested I read the Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. I didn't read it; I inhaled it! Edmund Morris' stunning in-depth look at the brilliant, dynamic, heroic TR sent me soaring. Just think, we once had a president who actually believed in being faithful to his wife, who believed that if he had to choose between righteousness and peace that he would choose righteousness. We had a president nearly 100 years ago who was in the habit of reading at least six books a week! We had a president who wasn't afraid to state his convictions and then to defend them to the end. No spin doctors for Theodore! If your patriotism has wilted in the heat of the endless fumes from Washington, read this wonderful bio. Visit a day when America had a president who loved his role as leader, husband and father, writer, war hero, explorer, and champion of the underdog -- the Great Theodore Roosevelt! All of this, and he was scandal-free. May God grant us another TR for the new century.
Rating:
Summary: fantastic biography--one of the best
Review: After buying Dutch, I wanted to read the Rise of Theodore Roosevelt prior to reading it. With all of the controversy over the Reagan biography I wanted to get a balanced picture of Morris as a biographer. This biography of Roosevelt, up to his years as President, was in a word, magnificent. In reading this biography you felt as if you were living with TR in TR's time. As I start the Reagan biography I eagerly await the second volume of Morris's TR.
Rating:
Summary: superb
Review: i now know why critics' expectations of Dutch were so high--this book paints a very clear stunning and clear portrait of TR's life. maybe dutch just didn't have enough material to work with.
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