The Lion's Pride Theodore Roosevelt and His Family in Peace and War

by Renehan, Edward J.

• ISBN13: 9780195134247
• ISBN10: 0195134249
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-09
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

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on the battlefields of World War I. Drawing upon a wealth of previously unavailable materials, including letters and unpublished memoirs, The Lion's Pride takes us inside what is surely the most extraordinary family ever to occupy the White House.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 with selfless--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 few months 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.

Author Biography

Edward J. Renehan, Jr., is the author of The Secret Six: The True Tale of the Men Who Conspired with John Brown and John Burroughs: An American Naturalist. He lives in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Part One: ROOSEVELT FORM
Mementoes	3	(6)
Roots	9	(12)
Crowded Hour	21	(16)
Part Two: THE LION'S PRIDE
The Uninvited	37	(14)
A Rather Enlarged Football Game	51	(20)
All the Kinds of Boys There Are	71	(16)
The Kaleidoscope Shaken	87	(12)
Too Proud to Fight	99	(11)
Equal Billing with Woodrow	110	(13)
Dust in a windy Street	123	(15)
Everybody Works But Father	138	(10)
Rue de Villejust	148	(7)
Issoudun	155	(13)
Pater Familias	168	(18)
Dark Harbor	186	(18)
The Capital of the World	204	(8)
The Old Lion Is Dead	212	(14)
War Once More	226	(15)
Epilogue	241	(6)
Notes	247	(20)
Selected Bibliography	267	(6)
Index	273