Theodore Roosevelt, Icon of the American Century

The life of Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) spanned America's transition from a provincial society to a burgeoning world power. His patriotism and idealism personified the national spirit at the start of what would be called the "American Century." Roosevelt, the youngest President in history, created in those years what political scientists call the modern presidency. He was the wielder of the Big Stick, the builder of the Panama Canal, an avid conservationist, and the nemesis of the corporate trusts that threated to monopolize American business at the start of the century. Yet his presidency accounted for only seven and a half years of a busy life. TR was so much more: political maverick, civic reformer, Rough Rider, governor, cowboy, sportsman; naturalist, historian, man of letters, and defender of the American family. The book includes many formal and informal depictions of Roosevelt, including photographs, sculpture, and paintings. There are also renderings of his family, some of his contemporaries such as Henry Cabot Lodge, Jacob Riis, William McKinley, J. Pierpont Morgan, and John Muir, and many cartoons and illustrations that appeared in newspapers, journals, and magazines of the time.

This thin volume, originally intended to accompany a 1999 traveling museum exhibition about Teddy Roosevelt, provides an excellent though limited introduction to the 26th president. It covers everything from TR's family life to his activist foreign policy and progressive politics, with fair attention to recent developments in historical interpretation. While the book demonstrates an awareness of new perspectives on Roosevelt, like many books on him it has difficulty hiding its general admiration for its subject despite his apparent flaws. Nonetheless, this brief study is an effective piece of presidential history, packed with photos from the archival exhibition that inspired it. Barber, the author of other presidential portraits, has written a highly readable profile, even if it does not break much new ground as it rushes through the life of the youngest man ever to assume the presidency.ACharles K. Piehl, Mankato State University, MN Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.