Rating: 
Summary: Bully!
Review: A thrilling look at the great Bull Moose at the apex of his career. Morris definitely seems to have regained his stride after his disappointing Reagan roman a clef. Among recent presidential biographies I'd rank "Theodore Rex" just behind McCullough's "Truman."
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Summary: TR Comes Alive
Review: Edmund Morris's "Theodore Rex" is a lively, spectacularly well written biography that is every bit as good as David McCullough's "John Adams" from a year ago. Granted, TR was such a fascinating figure that it would be hard to write an uninteresting account of his life, but through his clever use of anecdotes, Morris paints a lasting picture of the man who was (arguably) the greatest peacetime President in American history."Theodore Rex" picks up where Morris's first volume about TR ("The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt) left off, and we join "Teddy" as he is preparing to take the oath of office upon the death of his predecessor, William McKinley. In 555 pages, The book neatly covers the seven and a half years of TR's rule, ending on March 4, 1909, as he watches his reluctant handpicked successor, Willam Howard Taft, take the oath. In between, Morris describes one of America's most dynamic and eventful administrations. Morris aptly describes TR's genius as well as his faults. His triumphs and failures get equal treatment and examination. Thoughout, Morris's prose is lively and highly readable. Overall, "Theodore Rex" is certain to rank among the best works of history this year and will also take its place as one of the best Presidential biographies ever written.
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Summary: Theodore's Presidency
Review: Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris from Modern Library is the second in a three volume biography of the 26th President of the United States. The first volume The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 1980, setting high expectations for the rest of the series. In my opinion, this book easily meets those expectations. This is a fantastic biography, in which Mr. Morris does an excellent job of bringing Theodore Roosevelt's presidency to life. This prologue of the book starts with the death of President McKinley on September 14th, 1901, and the epilogue is March 4th, 1909, the day he hands the Presidency over to Taft. In-between is a well researched, richly entertaining discussion of his time in the White House. It covers not only the actions, but the decisions, the political feeling in the country at the time. Mr. Morris does an outstanding job of providing the entire scope of the events, and presents them in a way that makes the reader feel as if he is observing them at the time they are occurring. The perspective one gets on race issues, labor vs. business, and North vs. South during that period, is excellent. Also well discussed is the near war with Germany, and a understanding of the relationship between the U.S. and Japan that would ultimately result in war when a different Roosevelt was in office nearly 40 years later. I received this book as a gift, and read it without first reading The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. From that perspective, I can say that this book does not require the reading of the first volume, but that I expect that doing so would enhance the experience. I certainly intend to go back and read the first book, and look forward to reading the third as well. Theodore Rex easily earns 5 stars.
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Summary: The Right Book at the Right Time
Review: Edmund Morris' Theodore Rex has been in the works for the past twenty years. The long delay was fortuitous, because its publication in the fall of 2001 serves to remind Americans that our country has been under terrorist attack before, and we survived and excelled. Theodore Roosevelt came into office in September 1901 after an anarchist assassinated President William McKinley. The atmosphere of fear and alarm that swept the country then bears a sharp resemblance to our national mood since September 11. Fortunately, the events of September 1901 brought into office one of our most intellectually able and energetic chief executives. The next seven and a half years were among the most dynamic in our history. Theodore Roosevelt was a primal force. Nothing like him has held power in Washington before or since. His energy was boundless, his enthusiasm contagious, his charisma eternal. He seized control of the national agenda and forced the United States into the twentieth century. After such a stupendous job of chronicling one of the most stupendous Presidents, I wonder how Morris will manage the third volume's inevitable tale of decline. Given his track record, I'm sure it will be well worth the wait. (I just hope it isn't another twenty years!)
Rating: 
Summary: Well worth reading, but¿..
Review: Edmund Morris has done an admirable job in this book of detailing the presidential years of Teddy Roosevelt. Be aware however that there are a number of things that Morris does not handle well. For example, Roosevelt's relationship with his family is seldom mentioned. Basically, the Roosevelt family is pretty well ignored. His eldest daughter, Alice gets some attention but not much. To Morris' credit, Roosevelt's very intense relationship with his family would have been impossible to fully cover in this volume. An entire book could be written just about the father-daughter relationship with Alice, let alone Edith and the rest of his brood. When Edith is covered she comes across as a pretty hard to like snob. Maybe she is left out so as not to muddle the warm feeling the reader will develop for T.R. Still, Morris could have given a little more attention to what T.R.s family was up to and how it might have influenced him. One of the very things that makes David McCullough's biographies so wonderful is his ability to weave his subject's family life into their professional life. Morris has done a good job but he is no David McCullough. Morris however does an excellent job of including Roosevelt's associates in his narrative. John Hay in particular comes across as someone who is somewhat uncertain of how to take T.R. and is often swept aside by his sometimes rash boss. On the other hand, the reader will easily begin to see that Hay and Roosevelt bonded in such a way as to end in a deeply affectionate relationship. His relationships with the rest of his entourage are well covered also as one gets a pretty full picture of their interaction. Morris has also done an excellent job of presenting Teddy's relationship with several members of Congress, including GOP stalwarts such as Mark Hanna and Joseph Foraker, along with a few Democrats like "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman. Through these relationships one gets a very clear picture of the President as he moves with great political skill, picking a fight here, and spreading manure there to get his way. It becomes very clear very early in this book that Theodore Roosevelt was one of the great politicians of all time. The Roosevelt foreign policy is a little harder to figure as his decision making process, if indeed there was one, is a little hard to fathom. It is clear of course that he is an imperialist but some of his actions regarding conflicts in Europe defy description. Although he spent a large amount of time in Germany in his youth, Roosevelt come across as very anti-German. In a sad comment on Roosevelt's style of leadership, he seems to have sometimes made judgments based on the advice of his favorite tennis buddies. The French Ambassador being one of his favorite tennis opponents might help to explain the President's attitude toward Germany. After being elected on his own in 1904, Roosevelt made a leftward shift and began pushing even more progressive reforms. The shift is clear in this book but not much discussed and in fact much more than half of the book is taken by the first term. In dealing with the second term the author seems to dwell on the President's legislative successes and mostly ignores the many things Roosevelt unsuccessfully tried to push through Congress. Unfortunately, the failures may much more clearly illustrate the real Roosevelt than the successes and again an opportunity to more fully understand the subject of the book is lost. Morris does however touch on Roosevelt's growing admiration for William Jennings Bryan, a clear indication of the President's leftward shift. Morris has put together a book that is sometimes very informative and sometimes a little lacking in depth. It is overall a very good book and is a well-written and easy to read volume. Some of the more personal antidotes dealing with T.R. are excellent and Morris certainly had an interesting subject to work with. Unfortunately, one never gets the feeling of really knowing Roosevelt. There is a lot of fascinating information here but I can't help but feel that something is missing. Still, I highly recommend this book because while it may come up a little short of the mark, it is no doubt the best work on Roosevelt's presidency to date.
Rating:
Summary: Bulldozer of a man
Review: I won't pretend to be as insightful a reviewer as most of the people who have reviewed this book so far, but I did want to share my thoughts on this book. I am just now, at age 28, getting into more "serious" reading, i.e. not ESPN magazine or the daily sports page. I was curious to learn more about TR because I had heard of his great thirst for outdoor adventures and that he was an incredibly brilliant and well rounded leader. I was very impressed by this book and I learned a lot. The book starts with the news of President McKinley's assassination, and fills in much detail on events about which I basically knew nothing. Some highlights of these events include the negotiation surrounding the building and rights to the Panama Canal, the Brownsville, TX shootings, the general racial tension that was pricked when TR invited Booker T Washington to dinner at the White House, the peace treaty between Japan and Russia that TR played a large part in, the building up of our naval fleet, and the creation of national parks. I also learned a great deal about the main characters in TR's life at that time, namely his Cabinet members and his wife and children. Morris also threads together numerous hunting stories and snippets of Roosevelt's love for adventure that truly made me laugh. I was amazed at his intuition as a politician and his knack for getting his way in most circumstances through sheer force of will. Theodore Rex was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who is curious in learning more about that time in our country's history, or if you are like me and want to find out more about a brilliant mind who also happened to love the outdoors.
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Summary: Quite A Story! Quite A Book!
Review: "Theodore Rex" is the second in Edmund Morris' trilogy of the magnificent life of Theodore Roosevelt. Focusing on Roosevelt's presidency of 1901-9, "Theodore Rex" is a worthy successor to "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" (see my Amazon review). Chronologically arranged from the assassination of President McKinley to inauguration day, 1909, "Theodore Rex" covers the major issues to confront the Roosevelt Administration, both domestic and foreign. From his first day in office, TR was confronted with the task of winning over the Republican party in order to ensure his nomination in 1904. In this task he had to get around the hostility of McKinley's patron, Sen. Mark Hanna of Ohio. Domestically, TR faced a number of issues, some more successfully than others. Although a believer in Anglo-Saxon superiority, TR did respect the accomplishments of individuals. Race relations was one issue which TR confronted early and often, motivated by a mixture of interests, grounded both in politics and principle. Much of Hanna's influence came from his control of Southern delegations, a particularly corrupt wing of the Republican party. Having no power of their own, the Republican party in the South consisted almost exclusively of whites seeking federal patronage and blacks. In a effort to gain leverage with the black wing of the party, TR made an overture to Booker T. Washington, making him the first black invited to dinner at the White House. This overture was met with overwhelming disapproval by almost all segments of the body politic. Attempts to appoint blacks to federal positions ran into Senate opposition. Even to speak out against the practice of lynching tempered the courage of a leader with calculated political risk. Toward the end of his term, his handling of the case of the 25th Infantry in Brownsville, Texas was to undue much of his record in race relations. Labor relations presented an early test when TR became the first President to mediate a labor dispute as he brought the anthracite coal operators and miners together, turning a potential political nightmare into a major personal victory. His prosecution of the antitrust suit against the Northern Securities company, the railroad trust, brought him into conflict with the captains of industry and finance. This would be followed by his promotion of legislation to allow federal regulation of railroad rates. He would later work with some of these same captains in averting a financial panic. An early consumerist, TR lead the fight for the Pure Food and Drug Act, a measure inspired by Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" and opposed by strong congressional forces. Much Of TR's legacy survives in the lands he set aside in National Parks and his beginning of conservation policies. Unimpaired by Congressional opposition, TR employed executive orders to expand the wilderness held for future generations. It was in foreign policy that TR had some of his most enduring and spectacular successes. Confronted with a potential German takeover of Venezuela, TR reached back to the Monroe Doctrine and anticipated the war to occur with Germany in the following decade. Unlike some successors, TR was able to go to the brink of war without falling over the edge. When negotiations with Congress and Columbia failed to secure a canal treaty, TR supported the Panamanian revolt and secured the treaty which would lead to the Canal which he considered to be the greatest accomplishment of his administration. Mid-Eastern terrorism was not unknown in TR's day. The kidnapping of the American expatriate, Ion Perdicaris, from his home in Tangier, Morocco by the Raisuli, placed the issue on the President's desk. TR applied mounting pressure on the Sultan to achieve Perdicaris' release. With warships in place, TR finally issued the ultimatum: "We want Perdicaris Alive or Raisuli Dead". Japan would figure prominently among his foreign policy initiatives. Intervening to bring an end to the Russo-Japanese War won TR the respect of the world, as well as the Nobel Peace Prize, the first Nobel Prize won by an American. Despite his belief in Anglo-Saxon superiority he admired the Japanese race and preferred their victory over Russia, a victory which he confirmed after both sides had exhausted themselves in their struggle. Shortly thereafter, relations between Japan and the U. S. drifted toward war when the San Francisco school board voted to segregate Japanese and white students. A combination of moral suation on the school board and a naval display in the Pacific delayed war by 35 years. The buildup of the Navy, which had begun during Roosevelt's service as Assistant Secretary of he Navy, was capped by the circumnavigation voyage of the Great White Fleet, concluding a month before TR's own term. At the end of his term, TR enjoyed an odd mixture of love by the people and hatred by the captains of industry. He was still able to take pride in his accomplishments. He had calmed a nation plunged into grief. This most beligerent of presidents, with his soft speech and big stick had achieved his goals while keeping the peace. He has showed, albeit timidly, how to treat those of other colors as equals. He had limited trusts, affirmed the Monroe Doctrine, built the great Canal, brought peace to the Far East, faced down Mid-East terrorists, settled labor disputes, reduced the lynching rate, expanded the national parks and monuments, had become the first vice-president to succeed to the presidency and win a term on his own and had honored the two term limit. Theodore Roosevelt lived quite a story. Edmund Morris has written quite a book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Leadership Lessons
Review: TR - the man, the leader, the diplomat, all sides of this effervescent president are flushed out by Edmund Morris in his stunning biography of Teddy Roosevelt. This book goes to great length to look at all parts of Teddy and his subsequent administrations. Teddy took the Presidency to a level of which had not been seen before. He took on the powerful house and senate lead by backroom politicians and forced reform. What we would not do for someone like him today. I think the closest you are going to get is John McCain, but he just doesn't have the power of TR. This is a great book, but takes a while to get through as it is so detailed. Morris must have spent a ton of time researching this book, and it shows. This is a great text, and you will benefit from reading it. A Joseph Dworak
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Summary: The True "Man in the Arena"
Review: Morris' second book of the planned trilogy on Theodore Roosevelt is a enjoyable and packed with details. The book covers Roosevelt's White House years, following his ascension to the presidency after McKinley is killed, and gives wonderful insight into one of America's greatest presidents. Roosevelt essentially began the idea of the strong, involved president (since Lincoln's assassination, nearly all the presidents had been largely figure-heads in nature), and he is probably one of the most influential men of the twentieth century. Morris provides an in depth look at what Roosevelt accomplished in his two terms. He created the Department of Interior, protecting more land for posterity than any other president before or since. After reading a book written by Sinclair Lewis about the unsanitary conditions in the meat packing industry, He created the Food and Drug Administration . He mediated the treaty between the Russians and the Japanese after the Russo-Japanese War and as a result became the first president to be awarded the Nobel peace prize. He built our Navy into a world power, preparing the United States for its entry onto the scene as a super power. He was the force that drove the building of the Panama Canal. Roosevelt may well have been the single greatest president to ever serve in the office. If not, then when they call role for the great ones, there aren't too many names in front of him. In his lifetime, he also authored over 30 books, was fluent in at least six languages, and was a remarkably astute politician even before his rise to the presidency. Roosevelt also wrote the famous poem (I think it would be considerd a poem) entitled, "The Man in the Arena." In reality, he was the "Man in the Arena."
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Summary: A Big Stick
Review: In this never-boring book, Edmund Morris puts the man Theodore Roosevelt on the page and shows him shaping the events of his presidency. In doing so, Morris presents Roosevelt as he probably appeared to his supporters, with the President first handling race relations, then strikes, then international relations, then Panama Canal, and so on. Certainly, this chronological approach makes it clear why Roosevelt was a great president, since he had great success in improving international relations, as well as delivering domestic reforms to America. But this approach also has the effect of placing all TR's achievements within the flow of events, making the Panama Canal, international relations, and racism in America parts of the same cloth. Bottom line, I'd say Morris tells the story of America's first great international president. Readers who are more interested in other elements of Roosevelt's presidency might want to read books with narrower focus.
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