Theodore Roosevelt: A Biography

Rating:
Summary: Heavy Handed And Opinionated
Review: Henry Pringle's "Theodore Roosevelt" was one of the first biographies of TR and was written before the passage of time permitted an unimpassioned analysis of his life. Roosevelt scholarship has advanced over the intervening years.

Pringle has a reputation for factual errors. I caught a few statements of his which are consistently contradicted by later biographers. Other biographers display the ability to present the facts, both those favorable and unfavorable to TR, while leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions. With a heavy hand, Pringle supplies his own opinionated conclusions, which were often critical of TR.

TR lived such a full life that any single volume biography has to seem to be shallow. This relatively short biography is no exception. For a biography of TR I would recommend Edmund Morris' "The Rise Of Theodore Roosevelt" and "Theodore Rex" as well as Nathan Miller's "Theodore Roosevelt: A Life". For his early life I would recommend David McCullough's "Mornings On Horseback" (see my Amazon review on each). I would reserve Pringle's work for readers already well versed in TR lore who are seeking a thorough familiarity with TR literature.

Rating:
Summary: Heavy Handed And Opinionated
Review: Henry Pringle's "Theodore Roosevelt" was one of the first biographies of TR and was written before the passage of time permitted an unimpassioned analysis of his life. Roosevelt scholarship has advanced over the intervening years.

Pringle has a reputation for factual errors. I caught a few statements of his which are consistently contradicted by later biographers. Other biographers display the ability to present the facts, both those favorable and unfavorable to TR, while leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions. With a heavy hand, Pringle supplies his own opinionated conclusions, which were often critical of TR.

TR lived such a full life that any single volume biography has to seem to be shallow. This relatively short biography is no exception. For a biography of TR I would recommend Edmund Morris' "The Rise Of Theodore Roosevelt" and "Theodore Rex" as well as Nathan Miller's "Theodore Roosevelt: A Life". For his early life I would recommend David McCullough's "Mornings On Horseback" (see my Amazon review on each). I would reserve Pringle's work for readers already well versed in TR lore who are seeking a thorough familiarity with TR literature.

Rating:
Summary: impersonal look at Teddy
Review: I found Henry F. Pringle's biography on Theodore Roosevelt to be bit overrated. Probably because it was published back in 1931 that make the material so dated. Passage of time and reassessment of Theodore Roosevelt make this book somewhat of an oddity. Despite of being published just 12 years after Roosevelt's death, it was interesting to read that this was basically a pretty negative outlook on a great American. The style of his writing, the way he jumped forward and backward simply confused the subject matter sometimes. It doesn't helped that the author never really get into the mind, personality and motives of his subject. Many of the issues surrounding Roosevelt's life are simply not in-depth enough to be interesting or informative.

I supposed for readers back in the 1930s, this book had a lot to offered. But nowadays, with works by Edmund Morris, David McCullough, Nathan Miller and Kathleen Dalton, there is really very little purpose in reading this book. It doesn't offered any thing new nor offered any great insights.

I read it because it was so highly acclaimed back then. It won the Pulitzer Prize and won high reviews back then. But reading it now after going through many of the modern materials on Roosevelt, make Pringle's work looked weak and stale.

Not really recommended for anyone unless your curiousity get aroused by ancient work.

Rating:
Summary: A comprehensive look at TR from a revisionist perspective
Review: Pringle wrote the seminal book on TR back in the 1930s. It is in print again and is a splendid one volume reference on TR. I have read Morris' hero worshiping " The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt". Morris book is a grand adventure. Pringle views TR's life from the prizm of the political decisions of the impulsive but also calculating TR. Pringle wrote this book a generation after TR's death and much of the book reflects a disillusionment with TR . The author is quite clever in his writing and begrudgingly warms to TR. This is a book about TR warts and all. It also reflects TR's growing maturity as he became President. It is superbly written book and covers his entire life. I believe it is closer to the truth than the recent spat of romanticized TR books that have made TR more of a icon than a man with both strengths and weaknesses. TR brings the US kicking and screaming into its leadership role in the world in his presidential years. Thankfully, this fine book gives us a first hand look at TR as he really was.

Rating:
Summary: A great intro to TR and the world around him
Review: Pringle's biography of Theodore Roosevelt provides a fascinating chronicle of TR's many achievements. The author describes the accomplishments and contradictions of his subject without undue criticism or commendation. From his early years at Harvard and the NY state legislature, through the final days of his life, Roosevelt was passionate, opinionated and, above all, focused on achieving his goals. Pringle describes these events in great detail, from the well known (the Spanish-American War, the Panama Canal, anti-trust efforts) to the more obscure (simplified spelling, the Venezuelan debt dispute, the ill-fated Progressive party). After reading this book, you'll have a solid understanding not only of Roosevelt the man, but also of the world events that shaped history for the next hundred-plus years.

Pringle's book is enjoyable to read, in part because it includes numerous excerpts from TR's letters and speeches. The intelligence and wit of Roosevelt's writing feel like a breath of fresh air in today's world of banal CNN sound bites. You might be disappointed, however, by Pringle's lack of explanation for Roosevelt's controversial side. Namely, TR's racism and imperialistic hankerings may seem at odds to how a US president should behave, even in turn-of-the-century America. To boot, Pringle devotes only passing notice to the irony of TR's 1906 Nobel Peace Prize, a controversial accolade considering Roosevelt's jingoistic tendencies. Although some may consider Pringle's "Theodore Roosevelt" to be a definitive reference book, I'd argue that this biography is an excellent introduction, which should be supplemented with other works that pursue TR's controversial side in greater detail.

Rating:
Summary: A great intro to TR and the world around him
Review: Pringle's biography of Theodore Roosevelt provides a fascinating chronicle of TR's many achievements. The author describes the accomplishments and contradictions of his subject without undue criticism or commendation. From his early years at Harvard and the NY state legislature, through the final days of his life, Roosevelt was passionate, opinionated and, above all, focused on achieving his goals. Pringle describes these events in great detail, from the well known (the Spanish-American War, the Panama Canal, anti-trust efforts) to the more obscure (simplified spelling, the Venezuelan debt dispute, the ill-fated Progressive party). After reading this book, you'll have a solid understanding not only of Roosevelt the man, but also of the world events that shaped history for the next hundred-plus years.

Pringle's book is enjoyable to read, in part because it includes numerous excerpts from TR's letters and speeches. The intelligence and wit of Roosevelt's writing feel like a breath of fresh air in today's world of banal CNN sound bites. You might be disappointed, however, by Pringle's lack of explanation for Roosevelt's controversial side. Namely, TR's racism and imperialistic hankerings may seem at odds to how a US president should behave, even in turn-of-the-century America. To boot, Pringle devotes only passing notice to the irony of TR's 1906 Nobel Peace Prize, a controversial accolade considering Roosevelt's jingoistic tendencies. Although some may consider Pringle's "Theodore Roosevelt" to be a definitive reference book, I'd argue that this biography is an excellent introduction, which should be supplemented with other works that pursue TR's controversial side in greater detail.

Rating:
Summary: Bothersome in its presentation
Review: The first dozen pages of this book promised one of the best biographies I would likely read, when I was quickly disabused of my expectations. Though Pringle ably exposes Roosevelt's political theories and doctrines and their strange inceptions, the presentation of the book tediously presents a few details, then gives Roosevelt's reaction, then a new set of details, then Roosevelt's reaction, ad infinitum. I realize that histories and biographies are usually chronologically linear, but even though Pringle runs forward or looks back as it suits the situation, the whole presentation seems a tedious catalog of action and reaction.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent political biography!
Review: This in depth biography gives a side of Teddy Roosevelt that most people do not know about. It lists events that not only helped shaped his political career and social image, but events that gave a more personal view of the President, from his childhood asthma to his physical weaknesses. The book speaks of his thoughts, opinions, and views on several topics, such as art, nature, sports (football), his marriage, and great literature. Had T.R. lived to read this biography about him, I am sure he would have regarded it as a great work of literature, that may have been to long, but gave a great view of the legend, Theodore Roosevelt.