Rating: 
Summary: TR: There he is!
Review: In this wonderful biography, David McCullough states that he wanted to follow Theodore Roosevelt's life up to the point where the reader could say, "There he is."; the point at which he became the man we know. Early on, one of TR's relatives had told McCullough that no book had ever taken into account the extent to which TR was part of a clan. This became the focus of "Mornings on Horseback". And what a clan it was. The book gives wonderful portraits of his beloved father, Theodore,SR. Known as "Greatheart" and revered by all for his good works. Ironically, he was so outshone by his frail namesake, as to be all but forgotten today. We also meet his southern belle mother, Mittie, his siblings, and the love of his life, the tragic Alice Lee. Along the way, McCullough gives vibrant portraits of Old New York, Harvard, the Badlands, and the political scene of the day. The book is so well-researched, that we even get a fascinating chapter on the medical/psychological aspects of the asthma that plagued TR all his life. The best biographies read like a novel, and this one is no exception. It's a wonderful book, and you'll love meeting all the fascinating people in it, not the least of which, is TR himself.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling inside story of the great Roosevely clan.
Review: McCollough gets inside the upbringing of Teddy and his siblings, and explores the relationships between the siblings . Great build-up of pacing which serves to punctuate the incredible life-force of Theodore. I thought it would be dry, but the use of family letters throughout kept it personal and engaging. A terrific read--I feel enriched.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible - - - wish it didn't end where it does
Review: McCullough has done another outstanding job with this book. I first read McCullough's Pulitzer winning bio on Truman. The only flaw with this view on Teddy is that I WISH IT WERE AS LONG AS THE ONE ON TRUMAN!!! He's done an excellent job as a story-teller, yet from the bibliography, you can see that he has done the necessary research to make this a first rate study on Roosevelt's early life.Following this, I've read "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt", by Edmund Morris. Yes, he is the same gentleman who recently penned "Dutch: A memoir of Ronald Reagan". While "Rise" was given a Pulitzer, like McCullough's bio of Truman, I must say that it didn't "set" as well with me as this one. While both stop roughly mid-life for Teddy (early life to pre-Presidency), I judge "Mornings" to be the superior work. The level of detail in "Mornings", and the overall readability of the prose struck me as superior. As an aside, I have just currently read "TR: The Last Romantic" and while this is an engaging book and not as hero-worshipping as either Morris or McCullough, the book's reliance on almost all TR quotes, or a slight few that are related to TR, becomes jarring. All told, if you have a young son or daughter who has great potential and you'd like to set before them a shining example of a fine American; physically, mentally, and spiritually, then there is not a finer book I could recommend than McCullough's "Mornings on Horseback".
Rating:
Summary: short but still fulfilling
Review: McCullough is what EVERY historian should aspire to be; a master storyteller, who can still employ the past tense but not tip you off to what's going to happen. And even though TR is a figure from more than a century ago, you still want to to turn the pages to see what is going to happen next, even though you may already know. That's the mark of an excellent writer, and David McCullough is first and foremost an excellent writer. This is a wonderful book, and a good starter bio for anyone who wants to learn about one of our most colorful and interesting presidents.
Rating:
Summary: short but still fulfilling
Review: McCullough is what EVERY historian should aspire to be; a master storyteller, who can still employ the past tense but not tip you off to what's going to happen. And even though TR is a figure from more than a century ago, you still want to to turn the pages to see what is going to happen next, even though you may already know. That's the mark of an excellent writer, and David McCullough is first and foremost an excellent writer. This is a wonderful book, and a good starter bio for anyone who wants to learn about one of our most colorful and interesting presidents.
Rating:
Summary: Mornings on Horseback
Review: Mornings on Horseback, by David G. McCullough, describes the life of Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th and youngest ever President.
In this book, Mr. McCullough vividly describes young Teddy's growing up years and his close-knit family. An avid reader, Theodore especially liked to read books on history and the sciences. Biology was his lifetime hobby; from his youngest years to his White House days he studied plants and animals, kept vast collections, and simply enjoyed the outdoors. One wonders why he didn't become a biologist, his knowledge and delight of botany and zoology so great.
Shortly before graduating fomr Harvard University in 1880, he married Alice Lee. During his four years with her, he dabbled in Republican politics until tragedy struck: Alice died two days after the birth of their daughter; on the same day, Theodore's mother died of typhoid fever.
Utterly devastated, he left politics for the open plains of the Dakota Territory. He bought two ranches in what is now North Dakota; somehow, the hard life eased his sorrow.
At the request of the Republican Party, he returned to New York City in 1886 to run for mayor: he was defeated. However, soon after, he married a childhood friend, Edith Carow. During their 30+ years of marriage, they had five children.
He returned to politics and within several years went from Civil Service Commissioner to Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In 1900, he became William McKinley's running mate and was thrust into the Presidency after the assassination of the newly-inaugurated President. He went on to serve two terms as President.
Mr. McCullough does not go into extensive detail to describe T.R.'s political life. His book seems to be mainly focused on him and his family; he describes Theodore's family and relatives, focuses somewhat on his father's political career, but gives a cursory description of his own. However, it really delves into T.R.'s person life; I especially enjoyed the unedited writings by him, for there are many diary entries, letters and other quotations included in this book. This is a great biography on Theodore Roosevelt.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent "making of a great man" bio.
Review: Mr. McCullough has done it again. This time, he shows Theodore Roosevelt from a child to a young man, and reveals the influence of his family. Many books try to explain how a person becomes "great," but this one succeeds. Roosevelt came from an unusual family and its influence on him is illustrated. Excellent background on an extraordinary president.
Rating:
Summary: Hangover of the Century
Review: One historical concept will almost certainly come to be after time allows historians a polite distance from the 20th Century: the first 70 years belong to the Roosevelts. Hidden behind all the white noise of two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Communism, assassinations, genocides, computers, automobiles, television, telephones and airplanes is a political reality. US self-definition of the 20th Century was personified by Theodore Roosevelt and almost no other public figure. His popularity, honesty, stoicism and ideals, all the best of the way Americans wished to view themselves, allowed the ghost of his kinsman, Franklin Delano to point US political direction for the remainder of the Century. Theodore was the son of a wealthy New York elite who paid a substitute to serve in his place on the battlefields of the Civil War and the slave owning Southern Belle who was probably the model for Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. While his mother and grandmother were sending packages to the South via blockade-runners and most of his kinsmen South of the Mason-Dixon Line were dying in battle, the tyke Teddy expressed the wish that all `rebel soldiers would be ground to powder'. He idolized his father throughout his life, but barely mentioned his mother in his autobiography. Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, hero of San Juan Hill, Trust-Buster, cowboy, rancher, and founder of the earliest National Parks, National Wilderness Areas, and National Forests, Roosevelt was largely responsible for the 20th Century love affair with the West. Hoot Gibson, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, John Wayne and Roy Rogers would have all lived different lives if Teddy Roosevelt had followed the footprints of his father (and there'd be no `Teddy Bear'). So would we all live in an entirely different America. David McCullough gives us a great account of this man of contrasts and his family. I recommend it as the best work ever compiled on a man who might one day be hailed as the `best' president America ever had. McCullough gives us a human Roosevelt who carried all the best attributes of the 19th Century into the present.
Rating:
Summary: Hangover of the Century
Review: One historical concept will almost certainly come to be after time allows historians a polite distance from the 20th Century: the first 70 years belong to the Roosevelts. Hidden behind all the white noise of two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Communism, assassinations, genocides, computers, automobiles, television, telephones and airplanes is a political reality. US self-definition of the 20th Century was personified by Theodore Roosevelt and almost no other public figure. His popularity, honesty, stoicism and ideals, all the best of the way Americans wished to view themselves, allowed the ghost of his kinsman, Franklin Delano to point US political direction for the remainder of the Century. Theodore was the son of a wealthy New York elite who paid a substitute to serve in his place on the battlefields of the Civil War and the slave owning Southern Belle who was probably the model for Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. While his mother and grandmother were sending packages to the South via blockade-runners and most of his kinsmen South of the Mason-Dixon Line were dying in battle, the tyke Teddy expressed the wish that all 'rebel soldiers would be ground to powder'. He idolized his father throughout his life, but barely mentioned his mother in his autobiography. Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, hero of San Juan Hill, Trust-Buster, cowboy, rancher, and founder of the earliest National Parks, National Wilderness Areas, and National Forests, Roosevelt was largely responsible for the 20th Century love affair with the West. Hoot Gibson, Tom Mix, Gene Autry, John Wayne and Roy Rogers would have all lived different lives if Teddy Roosevelt had followed the footprints of his father (and there'd be no 'Teddy Bear'). So would we all live in an entirely different America. David McCullough gives us a great account of this man of contrasts and his family. I recommend it as the best work ever compiled on a man who might one day be hailed as the 'best' president America ever had. McCullough gives us a human Roosevelt who carried all the best attributes of the 19th Century into the present.
Rating:
Summary: The Delightful Perceptions of a Master
Review: The distinctive quality of David McCullough's works is that he refuses to insult his reader with a less than honest view of his subject while making allowances for the fact that in writing history, he was not present to be able to interpret what the circumstances were, or what they might have been. He is an intellectual's author in expressing, as well as he can, the intricacies of well defined patterns of communication that existed at the time that likely made an impact on his subject to define his perspective and his action. This is a solid effort to give both character and accuracy to the personality as he might have been, and probably was, without attributing his own knowledge of today's events onto his subject, a tendency of increasing frequency. The reason for this is his dedicated and meticulous research into his subject, a model of historical recording, without unduly influencing the reader. The value of reflecting the accuracy of historical events is that it offers the reader his own perspective to interpret historical events rather than a canned version by the author. Of course, McCullough may draw upon unique events to help identify information previously glossed over in his attempts to portray that accuracy. This is an acceptable license in biographical accounts though not always followed with such careful editing. The exciting part of McCullough's writing is that he has the humility to identify his subjects as extraordinary, and is a willing participant in helping the reader to see that as well, a real credit to his choice of subject. His fascination is transmitted to the reader in a thoughtful measure of the man, or the event, he has researched, the mark of a very distinguished writer who adores his work, and is successful for that reason.
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