i am someone who likes the letter format of books and this book has it. if you like books in letter fomat than this is a good book to read and at the end it has information on thedore roosevelt. i rated this 5 stars

My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. What a wonderful way to provide a glimpse into the past. My daughter, age 10, had no difficulty in telling fiction from non-fiction. The design of the book is incredible. We were particularly impressed by the use of web prompts through out the book. A visit to the Winslow Press website is a must. There is nothing else out there like it on the web.

My name is John Olsen. I am a very big Theodore Roosevelt fan. I collect T.R. items and have study many of his writings. Jennifer Armstrong has written this book so convincingly well that I almost thought T.R. had actually written these letters. As explained in the beginning of the book, one of her major resources for the book was Roosevelt's own "Letters to His Children." So, while T.R. never had a pen pal who was a young coal miner, I am almost certain that it could have easily happened. T.R. was exactly that type of person. He was a big kid himself and would have been thrilled to have written to such a person as the young coal miner in the story. The book is filled with references to many of the exciting events of the life of Theodore Roosevelt, one of our greatest Presidents ever. Furthermore, there are detailed explanations of numerous words relating to mining and Polish culture. I strongly recommend this book for those who want to get their pre-teens excited about history and Presidents. I rather like the "Dear Mr. President" concept as a means to excite young people about Presidents. I look forward to reading the others in this series. Just remember who this book was written for and don't overanalyze it. Enjoy it!!

Knowing that this book was written by Theodore Roosevelt makes it an important book regardless of the actual text. TR's influence on the strategic importance of seapower can be traced back to his feelings as a young author. The book itself was tedious and not very inspiring. It's interesting to glimpse the feelings of the young, strong, post-Civil War American writing the book. As far as a history of the War of 1812, you can do much better elsewhere.

In a time when patriotism is passe, reading this book can redden the stuff in any American's veins. Our Navy's often-victorious battles against a superb and numerically superior foe ranks with the Athenian victory at Marathon in the annals of honor. Roosevelt was a natural storyteller and a first-rate scholar. Like JFK two generations later ("Why England Slept") this work was the product of a young twentysomething Harvard grad (JFK was actually a senior) that commanded serious attention nationally, and presaged a later rise to the summit of public life. Roosevelt's research is exhaustive, but not tedious, thanks to a vigorous prose style that carries the reader through a mass of detail without losing sail. The digression on which nationalities make the best seafarers would no doubt be considered un-PC today, but, as a general characterization of national characteristics, they arguably hold true. The author's final chapter, on the Battle of New Orleans, forshadows future policy, in that his criticism of the unreliability of the militia were embodied in the reforms that fully Federalized the National Guard, as the Dick Act of 1903. (Doubtless, his Spanish-American War experiences contributed to his desire to supplant the 1793 Militia Act, as well.) This book rests on my shelf, next to Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History," and O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin novels - as is fitting for an historical work written in the spirit of high adventure and studded with minute detail. -Lloyd A. Conway

This very well-written account, surprising from a youth of only 23, gives balanced portrayals of most of the major sea battles between the fledgling American navy, and the Lord of the Seas, Great Britain. In it, Roosevelt backs up his praise of American maritime ingenuity and the seaworthiness and discipline of its sailors with proofs, citations and cautious but sound reasoning. In each, diagrams of the engagements are provided, as well as other documented statistics, without overloading the reader with details, yet there are plenty of those. Roosevelt describes the handling of each ship and the actions of its captains with minute detail, without being, to the layman, purely technical. Although Roosevelt beats the patriotic drum, he also swings a corrective switch, against our commanders and our partisan historians, when their actions are faulty and objectionable -- a fact which underscores his fairmindedness and the authenticity of his rendering.

A great romp through TR's hometown -- NYC

Everyone knows the Teddy Bear is named after Theodore Roosevelt, but most people don't know exactly why. This fanciful story is half political and half a fairy tale. I don't mind reading it to children because it happens to be true. The illustrations are beautiful. The total effect is enchanting.

Ostensibly this book is about the controversy that erupted over the work of Ernest Thompson Seton and William J. Long, both well-respected and popular naturalists in their time (start of the 20th century), and both very successful writers. The general public, which had caught "nature fever," was entranced by their stories of wolves that fed their offspring poison so they wouldn't have to endure captivity, foxes that rode on the backs of sheep to escape hunters, porcupines that curled into balls and rolled down hills, and birds that tied knots in order make nests.

Enter the grand old man of nature writing, John Burroughs and the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, both of whom had a hard time swallowing the tales of Seton and Long. In exasperation at what he saw as blatant untruths, Burroughs wrote a letter debunking many of the claims Seton and Long made. It was published in the Atlantic and immediately created a stir. Although Seton refused to react, and indeed went out of his way to discuss the matter with Burroughs, Long responded with outrage and accusations of his own. What resulted was an ongoing debate between the two camps, which has been well-documented and expertly told here by Lutts. The bigger picture has to do with the changing perception of wilderness (including animals) and its role in the lives of Americans at the start of the twentieth century.

Lutts does a beautiful job of developng not only the nature faker debate, but explaining how the changing consciousness of the nation shaped and fueld it as well. Thus The Nature Fakers is about much more than the actual debates between Seton, Long, Burroughs and Roosevelt.

My one problem was the length of the book. After 100 pages Lutts has made the issues clear, and it seems time to let us know what happened and sum things up with some concluding remarks. Instead, the arguments and debates go on, via excerpts from the actual texts of the times. Although the quotes are well chosen and helpful at the start, since they allow the reader to get a feel for the writers, they got to be a bit tiresome towards the end.

The slow pace of the second half of the book aside, The Nature Fakers is a fascinating tale involving some of America's most colorful and historic personalities. It also raises concerns that are still very much with us today. You are left wondering what you really think about the role of nature in our lives. Should animals and natural resources be treated as commodities to be consumed, regarded as equals and protected, seen as fearsome and unapproachable, or merely the objects of biological study? Your answers may surprise you. Definitely recommended.

If someone wants to get a one volume account on this exciting presidency, look no further. The author, Lewis Gould, shows how TR developed further the modern presidency, which began under his predecessor McKinley. One of our most fascinating presidents, there's a wonderful chapter on Roosevelt the Administrator. Excellent bibliography too!

Teddy Roosevelt, Rough Rider is interesting because it is a biography and history of Teddy Roosevelt as a child. He liked natural history and even stuffed the animals he caught himself - yuck! When he grew up and was president, he was involved in saving park and forest land and wildlife. Yellowstone Park was one of the parks he helped with. He had asthma but he wanted to build up his body to be strong, so he did a lot of sports like boxing and horseback riding. He liked to read and write books. A funny part of the story involved frogs, but you'll have to read it yourself to find out!

It's available from Waveland Press, Inc., I recently purchased a new copy of it.

Ms. Dalton's biography of Teddy Rooevelt is flawed in one major way.She has only a very cliche understanding of the free market system that while not perfect is the best way to ensure the highest standard of living for all Americans. She writes about Andrew Carnegie as a selfish accumulator of wealth derived from the exploitation of steel workers. Never mind that Mr. Carnegie was a Scottish immigrent whose father was a weaver and came to America looking for opportunity for his family while TR was born to wealth and privilege. Carnegie starting as a clerk for a railroad co. took great risks of his own capital to build the steel industry one of the most important building blocks of prosperity and ultimatly returned his great wealth to society. While Roosevelt did help enact some needed regulations concerning monopoly and labor I found Ms. Dalton to write from an anti capitalist point of view that totally misjudges the contribution of the early industrialists.

I'm not an historian--my doctorate is in literature--so take the following for what it's worth.

A Strenuous Life is a very impressive work, delightful in the way it spins its tale, exciting in its revelations of TR as a human being surrounded by other human beings at home as well as at work, and important in the parallels it leads us to draw between the real Roosevelt and the image current politicians conjure up of him to support their goals.

Kathleen Dalton weaves a fascinating tale of a complex individual--scientist, politician, leader, husband, father, idealist and pragmatist. In many ways the most intriguing "plot line" is Roosevelt's insistence on fairness and justice. As a young man he was introduced to the squalid conditions of New York City immigrants by photographer/journalist Jacob Riis. That revelation enflamed Roosevelt's intense sense of justice that led him to crusade for the underprivileged, laying the groundwork for his courageous stands against the abuses of big business.

Roosevelt's career almost seems the stuff of fiction with its improbable career story line--naturalist to politician to cowboy to soldier to president to explorer to third party challenger; and Dalton's writing has the lilt of the best fiction. But TR was real and Dalton's incredibly detailed and documented history provides an important reality check to the glibly portrayed Roosevelt of myth and legend. After reading A Strenuous Life one almost feels one knows Roosevelt well enough to say to some current politicians, "I knew Theodore Roosevelt...and you, sir, are no Theodore Roosevelt."

I am excited by Dalton's biography of Theodore Roosevelt. It is the freshest book to come out about TR since Edmund Morris' "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt." I have read many books about TR and there is much new and interesting information in her book.
For example she mentioned that J. Martin Miller, a journalist, lied about TR's drinking. I have a book by J. Martin Miller called "The Triumphant life of Theodore Roosevelt," copyright 1905, which has some rare pictures of TR. I have never before read any other mention of J. Martin Miller.
To anyone who has a mood disorder, it comes as no surprise that TR had one too, although the so-called "normal" people do not understand and think it is an insult to say their beloved TR had one. I started studying him a few years ago, figuring he was a self-actualized person. I wanted to find out how a person with bipolar disorder becomes a self-actualized person. By a great deal of reading and thinking, I realized how he did it. He learned how to deal with stress early in his life. He used studying, writing, reading, exercise and even food to stabilize his moods. What I didn't realize until I read this book was that his wife Edith, aware of his moods, eased much of the stress on him. His bipolar disorder was mild because he worked to learn how to handle stress. Often young people use much less healthy ways to deal with depression and manic depression. They would learn much about how to deal with their moods by studying TR.
I was pleased that the author expounded on his growing social conscience. I think it is very important to show that it is possible to learn and grow your entire life, up to the very end.
I think this book will be cited often by historians.

The bio had alot of "facts" but it did not show us how she really felt. There is a snobbish tone to the life story of Mrs. Teddy. I don't think she was in fact that snobbish.

I read this biography as a companion to "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" and "Theodore Rex" -- partly because I wanted a different perspective, and partly because I wanted to know what happened to Theodore after 1908 and volume III of his biography isn't likely to be out in the near future. In the end I am glad I read the book, and I learned a great deal more about President Roosevelt and his family -- but I think for the serious or dedicated history buff you must also read the aforementioned books to get a more detailed, nuanced view of the Roosevelts' life and the times in which they lived.

Morris's writing varies markedly from section to section, perhaps due to inconsistent editing rather than her own writing.

Her lifelong romance with Theodore Roosevelt is certainly the stuff that films (or at the very least, TV movies) are made of. She never stopped loving the brilliant, bellicose, captivating, exasperating "boy" she had fallen in love with at a very young age. She helped mold him into a man. How two strong-willed persons of such opposing personalities thrived in such a successful marriage is even more reason why their story in film would be interesting. If Edith, certainly one of the most private historical figures in our country's history, had not the burned thousands of letters from her "Teedie"/Theodore (wishing to keep their lifetime of thoughts and passions to themselves), their romance might be up there with John and Abigail. TR also destroyed most of the letters from "Edie"/Edith because of Edith's constant pleading to him to do so.

What has survived through thousands of letters that friends and relatives did not destory and through Edith's 40+ years of private diaries (left to her daughter Ethel) is a portrait of a iron-willed, intelligent, passionate lady who survived many family crises and lived through enough U.S. political history for a couple of high school textbooks.

She was often the mother AND the father of her large household of children and pets as TR would often leave to go on hunting trips, safaris, and political campaigns. She ran the household in every area mostly because she had to get control of the family finances. (TR almost had to sell Sagamore Hill before he married Edith because he had lost so much of his inheritance in the Badlands. His older sister helped him get through some lean financial years.)

But, she knew that he would always return to her bed and to no one else's. She often looked down at her sisters-in-law, nieces, and female friends who had married "safely" and did not have a passionate, romantic partnership such as the one she shared with TR. In many ways she was as contradictory in her beliefs as her husband. She was certainly Victorian in her moral strictures, yet one of her closest confidants and friends in the later White House years was the not-so-in-the-closet homosexual chief military aide to her husband (and this gentleman, Archibald Butt, would later help many of the Titanic's passengers to safety before he perished).

One of the most poignant chapters in the book deals with the sons getting ready to go off to fight in the Great War. Quentin, her baby, is eighteen and falling in love with the daughter of one of the anti-Roosevelts, the Whitneys. Edith and TR are concerned with their son falling in love with one of the "plutocrat" Whitneys. However, once they meet Flora they fall in love with her and take her into their family as one of their own. Quentin has to leave the safe environs of Sagamore Hill and the Long Island air training centre and be shipped off to Europe. The elder Roosevelts try to get passports for themselves to travel with Flora so that Flora can marry Quentin in Europe. They can't get passports to travel overseas during the war. Quentin is shot down over France, and TR & Edith have to break the news to her at Sagamore Hill. Flora would remain close to some of the family members until she died many years later.

In short, this is a detailed biography of a great lady, First Lady, wife, world traveler, mother, and grandmother. The vivid detail of the White House during TR's electric eight years at the head of the country is worth the price and time alone. The Kennedys and Camelot had nothing on the intellectual and artisic salon that the Roosevelts inspired and supported during their many years in Washington.