Kavi Reads

It’s been a few years since I watched Night At The Museum. I had never heard of Theodore Roosevelt before, but clearly, he seemed like a fascinating man (though that can be attributed to Robin Williams’ brilliant acting). And of course, I knew his head is on Mount Rushmore, so I figured he was a big deal (though I’ve heard he was just friends with the sculptor). About two months ago, while browsing the 52book subreddit, I saw someone had posted that they read, and enjoyed a book called The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris, and instantly I saw an opportunity to learn more about him and find out who he really was. I did not expect the journey I was about to go on with Teddy.

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is part of a trilogy by Morris about the entire life of Roosevelt and covers his life up to the day before becoming the president of the United States. And needless to say, it was quite an amazing book. As someone who never learned about US history in school, I only knew a handful of US presidents. Out of those, I only knew of their accomplishments after they became president. How they make their way to becoming president was something I never thought about. Theodore Roosevelt, it seemed like, was born to be president. Throughout his life, many people predicted he would become president one day. Morris somehow managed to capture his entire pre-presidency life in almost a thousand pages (or a 26-hour audiobook) without a single dull moment. His research is evident in the detail of the events recounted, from Roosevelt’s fascination with nature to interactions with politicians. But Morris had some help. I don’t think there could be a more hilarious, impressive, resolute and unique person in history than Teddy Roosevelt. Therefore, it is not surprising that a book written about him ends up being that gripping and entertaining. The best part about listening to this book as an audiobook was that whenever Roosevelt was directly quoted, the narrator used Roosevelt’s own voice. And while I can’t confirm its authenticity, it certainly fit the character and made me feel like he was in front of me.

Like most biographies, the book started with his childhood. Roosevelt was a frail child. His early days were full of terrible asthma attacks and he looked (according to his own mother) like a turtle. However, from a very young age, he was obsessed with books, science, and natural history. At the age of seventeen, he entered Harvard. His college life is full of humorous stories along with meeting his first love, Alice Lee. This is contrasted by the death of his father, whom Teddy worshipped. Morris portrays how much his death affected Teddy quite brilliantly, making the reader feel the emotions Teddy went through. Soon after Harvard, Roosevelt got his first taste of politics as a New York state assemblyman. He quickly gained a reputation of an outspoken, fearless man who regularly challenges authority. He was amazingly non-politically correct (he despised political correctness) and his letters are full of mockery and rudeness. One of my favourite things he regularly did was during any speeches or talks he attended, he would never hesitate when he had an objection and interrupted the speaker with his clear and loud voice, “Mr Speaker!”.  However, more tragedy struck his household, as he witnessed the deaths of his wife and second daughter at the same time during childbirth. Distraught, he ended his initial political and soon heads west to become an ardent cowboy and rancher in the Dakotas.

However, he returned to politics first as a civil service commissioner and later as a New York City police commissioner, where, once again he lived up to his reputation. The narrative continues as he becomes the Assistant Secretary of the Navy or when he leads the “Rough Riders” in Cuba during the war with Spain. Later, he becomes the Governor of New York and eventually, vice-president to William McKinley. The book ends with (spoiler alert) the assassination of McKinley and Roosevelt becoming the 26th president of the United States of America; and at 42, the youngest so far. Each part of his life is just as thrilling as the next. Morris manages to capture an immense amount of detail and drama in all of them. Personally, my favourite Teddy-tale was when he navigated a frozen river to chase some boat thieves. This was during his time in Elkhorn Ranch in North Dakota. Roosevelt and his two hunting companions had purchased a boat to ferry them across the Missouri river to go on hunting expeditions. On one such expedition, they came back to find the rope had been cut and the boat was missing. So he did what any reasonable person would do. In sub-zero temperatures, he built a boat from scratch and started looking for the thieves. Upon finding them, he overpowered them easily. But while trying to bring them back to justice, they encountered an “impassable ice dam”. Despite the cold and lack of food, he managed to keep his companions’ and prisoners’ spirits up to the point that the thieves did not need tying up anymore and upon returning to land, they did not resist arrest.

I also found Roosevelt was more than just a politician. He also authored over three dozen books and was quite the ornithologist. But what struck me as most remarkable were his reading habits. Over his lifetime, he read tens of thousands of books, by his own estimates. He was said to finish a book while eating breakfast and two before going to bed. Even more astonishing was his ability to absorb the book. His memory was extraordinary, and despite his speed, he knew the entire content of the book and was even able to quote excerpts from it. While for the most part, he and I are very different people, this was one area where I felt we were similar. As if I needed another motivation to read more.

With this book behind me, I am very excited to read about the next chapter of his life with Theodore Rex, the second book about him by Morris and about his time as the 26th president.