old school aka boring style We read this in American Studies in high school, I remember really liking it, but wonder what I would think if I read it today, I didn't realize it was written such a long time ago, . . A very thorough biography. A bit dry and long, but tells you much of his life and public roles, Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hardtofind books with something of interest for everyone Very good comprehensive biography, Does not follow chronological order, Not very good. I did not enjoy this book as much as I was expecting to, It's just not a vary interesting read,
Watch Ken Burns! I must say that Henry Pringle really brings to life the man who was Theodore Roosevelt in this fact filled and story packed biography of theth President of the United States.
Not only was Pringle thorough in his writings on the life of the Roosevelt but he was also unafraid to criticize him at times, The author also included details in this text that had been left out of the official autobiography by Roosevelt that were no doubt previously excluded because of the poor light they cast on the former president.
There were also a ton of interesting facts and tidbits in this book that made me laugh at how such small things at that time could stand out so much.
One fact I did not know, and just to give the readers of this review an inkling of what is in the book, is that many people who met Roosevelt were enthralled by his TEETH.
A shock to me but maybe not to others but I just found
that quite fascinating, Altogether this was a great read and it is on the lengthier side so be prepared to dedicate some time to this, Certain parts became a little choppy and jumped around chronologically quite a lot which could be confusing to other readers, Nonetheless, I would highly recommend this as the first stop on the reading railroad to anyone wanting to know more about theth president, sitelink com
“Theodore Roosevelt: A Biography” is Henry Pringles Pulitzer Prize winning biography of the twentysixth president, Published in, just twelve years after Roosevelts death, it was considered the definitive biography of Roosevelt for many years, Pringle was a journalist and biographer, and also authored a twovolume biography of William Howard Taft in,
One thing is immediately obvious when reading this biography: the author is not one of Teddy Roosevelts most adoring fans, Rather than providing a fawning or worshipful review of Roosevelts life, this book sets an early tone that ranges between skeptical and critical,
Far from embracing Roosevelts large reputation, Pringle knocks TR off his pedestal, reminding the reader that every silver lining belongs to a cloud, Where his contemporaries remember a decisive leader, Pringle sees snap decisions where history savors the Panama Canal, historic wilderness conservation and an early move against monopolies, Pringle focuses on his concomitant weaknesses.
One begins to wonder if this could possibly be the same Theodore Roosevelt who historians rank so highly in the Presidential Pantheon, But by the books second half the criticism becomes more more balanced and the bias less severe, Pringle never buys into the popular view of TRs greatness, but his disapproval becomes less strident and far more thoughtprovoking,
Despite its age the book is nearly eightyfive years old its writing style is not stiff and it reads like a much younger book, Though occasionally dense, it is rarely dull and is liberally infused with insightful observations,
But much is missing from Pringles work, Despite the fact it is ostensibly comprehensive, there is almost no discussion of Roosevelts family, Here, Pringle ignores a critical dimension of TRs life, The author also rushes past much else: his time in the Dakotas, his early career in Washington and New York City, his “Rough Rider” campaign and his trips to Africa and South America.
While avoiding the look and feel of a political science textbook, this biography is clearly more focused on Roosevelts national political career rather on than anything else.
Pringle also tends to proceed through Roosevelts life nonlinearly it is often difficult to place described events in their proper sequence, While the overarching thread is chronological, the book frequently dashes forward or backward in time to capture a moment, or describe a theme, not previously discussed, Many readers will find the books flow disjointed,
There is, however, much to like about this early biography of Roosevelt, Rather than falling into the easy trap of incessantly praising Roosevelt, Pringle forces the reader to consider whether TRs greatest strengths were also his most glaring weaknesses,
And where some biographers may add texture to their narrative by leaning on Roosevelts interesting but almost frivolous adventures, Pringle focuses only on the most essential moments of his subjects life.
In the end, there are simply too many nuggets of wisdom in this biography to simply dismiss it,
Overall, Henry Pringles biography of Theodore Roosevelt is both insightful and frustrating, It fails to adequately cover much of TRs life that is essential to understanding him, but some of its criticism is reasonable and wellfounded, In the end, this book is most valuable as a companion text to a more comprehensive and penetrating biography of Roosevelt,
Overall ¼ I enjoyed reading about TR's outsized personality and his political accomplishments amp legacies, He was such a character that it would be difficult to write a boring book about him, and Pringle was a thorough researcher and decent writer, I feel though, that Pringle was perhaps overly critical, bordering on deprecating at times, He could have included more of TR's family life and personal writings, Roosevelt left extensive writings and I believe was more thoughtful than how he is characterized in these pages, No doubt he possessed inconsistencies and shortcomings of character, and the author gleefully dwells on them, He was complicated and fascinating, and a fair deal of that can be seen in these pages, One thing that annoyed me was the author's habit of constantly jumping back and forth in time, which I felt disrupted the flow and compromised the readability of this biography.
That and what I felt was an overly critical as opposed to balanced tone, were why I rate this generally very interesting book at,tostars. Henry Fowles Pringle was an American biographer and journalist, Inhe won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for hisbiography of Theodore Roosevelt, .