U.S. Vice Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt

In The Lion's Pride, Edward J. Renehan, Jr. vividly portrays the grand idealism, heroic bravery, and reckless abandon that Theodore Roosevelt both embodied and bequeathed to his children and the tragic fulfillment of that legacy on the battlefields of World War I. Drawing upon a wealth of previously unavailable materials, including letters and unpublished memoirs, The Lion's Pride takes us inside what is surely the most extraordinary family ever to occupy the White House. Theodore Roosevelt believed deeply that those who had been blessed with wealth,influence, and education were duty bound to lead, even--perhaps especially--if it meant risking their lives to preserve the ideals of democratic civilization. Teddy put his principles, and his life, to the test in the Spanish American war, and raised his children to believe they could do no less.When America finally entered the "European conflict" in 1917, all four of his sons eagerly enlisted and used their influence not to avoid the front lines but to get there as quickly as possible. Their heroism in France and the Middle East matched their father's at San Juan Hill. All performed withselfless--some said heedless--courage: Two of the boys, Archie and Ted, Jr., were seriously wounded, and Quentin, the youngest, was killed in a dogfight with seven German planes. Thus, the war that Teddy had lobbied for so furiously brought home a grief that broke his heart. He was buried a fewmonths after his youngest child. Filled with the voices of the entire Roosevelt family, The Lion's Pride gives us the most intimate and moving portrait ever published of the fierce bond between Teddy Roosevelt and his remarkable children.

No president in American history has suffered a stranger fate at the hands of posterity than Theodore Roosevelt. The world leader who achieved international recognition and popularity in his own time as a man of peace (he was one of only two presidents awarded the Nobel Peace Prize) is submerged in the image of the Rough Rider, the “Bully” fighter, whose enthusiasm for a fight or a hunt was unrestrained by humanitarian or other concerns. The kindest criticism of Roosevelt holds that by good luck and good advice he was able to avoid disaster; the unkindest that he was an international adventurer who posturing misled may an admirer. Moreover, the apparent paradox implicit in his famous slogan, “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” has confused scholar and layman alike, and that confusion has been abetted by the seemingly contradictory impulses of his personality. Frederick W. Marks III, drawing upon archival and manuscript materials in five countries, as well as numerous primary and secondary sources, rebuts, point by pint, the myths and misconceptions that have given rise to this distorted and confused image. Arguing that Roosevelt can be understood only in the context of his time and that the whole of his diplomatic record provides the key to understanding its individual parts, he reconstructs in careful detail the man, his time, and his record, and, in so doing, allows us to see Theodore Roosevelt whole. Given the received opinion concerning the man and his presidency and the nature of contemporary political attitudes, Mark’s interpretation of Roosevelt’s conduct of foreign affairs will undoubtedly prove highly controversial, yet his argument, buttressed as it is by a wealth of source material, deserves serious consideration by those concerned not only with the accuracy of historical judgment but also with the successful conduct of foreign relations.