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Colonel Roosevelt (2010)

by Edmund Morris(Favorite Author)

4.18 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0375504877 (ISBN13: 9780375504877)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Random House

series

Theodore Roosevelt

review 1: This book concludes Edmund Morris's trilogy of Theodore Roosevelt's life, which began with The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (his years before the presidency) and continued with Theodore Rex (his years in the Oval Office). This last volume includes his near-death experience from an assassin's bullet and his trip down an uncharted tributary of the Amazon. Beyond that, it turns into a rather sad volume of a declining light in the political universe. But an amazing life. I'm glad a read the full three volumes, although I thought I might never finish this one!This is part of my journey of reading bios of all the presidents, TR being prez #25. I've paused here to read several of Roosevelt since he's one of my faves. I have one more on deck before I move on to ... moreTaft.
review 2: This is the last volume of a very remarkable biography of Teddy Roosevelt. One fears as one picks up Colonel Roosevelt, that it will be a downer relative to what has preceded it. Volume One, The Rise of Teddy Roosevelt is a joyful story of how the great man is formed morally, intellectually and physically. One understands at the end that Teddy has truly been raised for greatness. In Volume Two, Theodore Rex, he shines. He builds the Panama Canal. He wins the Nobel Prize for Peace and in so doing demonstrates that Americans possess the intelligence and judgment to play a leading role in World Affairs. At every turn, he fights to protect the little man from the giant trusts. One dreads Volume Three because one knows that the triumphs are over. Roosevelt will dither about and finally decide not to seek a third term feeling that the tradition of a two-term presidency must be preserved. His daughter Alice and many in his entourage are appalled. The case for Roosevelt running was strong. Roosevelt became president on the assassination of McKinley thus his first term was only a partial one. Roosevelt had only actually run for the presidency once and indeed did have a strong case for running again given that at that time, the two-term presidency was simply a tradition not a law.However, Roosevelt did indeed step inside in favour of his Vice-President Taft. Once Taft assumed office Roosevelt quickly began to find fault with him most particularly for taking the side of the Trusts in the Combines disputes. Roosevelt then runs against Taft in the Republican presidential primary of 1912. When he loses, he accepts the leadership of the new Bullmoose party. He loses in the actual election splitting the Republican vote in half allowing the Democrat Woodrow Wilson to sneak through.I found the analysis of Roosevelt's actions in the Bullmoose fiasco to be the least satisfying section of Volume III, indeed of the whole three volume biography. Roosevelt's behaviour was wildly erratic and selfish. Morris simply says that it was better that the Republicans lost because Woodrow Wilson was clearly the man of the hour. Wilson after all secured an allied victory in World War I by bringing the USA in on the sides of the allies. Wilson's view of a new world order in which democracy should exist throughout the world, colonialism should be ended, small nations should be allowed to govern affairs and world peace should be achieved through multi-lateral has come to dominate our thinking and our politics.The problem with this is that knowing what a great president Wilson would be still does not justify Roosevelt having sabotaged Taft's re-election campaign. More than a single election was lost. By energetically criticizing Taft's leniency towards trusts as being harmful to small business, Roosevelt pulled a huge segment of the small business vote away from the Republicans. While the small business community will rally to a very Charismatic Republican leader like Reagan, its heart, financial contributions and volunteer campaign work still remains primarily with the democrats. Morris in my mind lets Roosevelt off way too lightly.The section treating the last four years of Roosevelt's life after the 1914 Bullmoose candidacy is wonderfully done. With the sensitivity of a great novelist Morris takes us through the decline in Roosevelt's health and the anguish that he experienced when his son died serving in the American Air Force in World War One.I in fact enjoyed this last volume of Morris' biography of Teddy Roosevelt. It was as I anticipated the sad tale of a beached whale that dies not the epic of a triumphant leader. However, it is told with a tender and elegiac tone that suites the story. Morris' research remains as thorough as every. Colonel Roosevelt is still worth a read for those who believe that history can still treat the lives of the great mean during the period when their greatness has passed them by. less

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