Reviews
Brands organizes the letters chronologically into six chapters, with brief introductions to each and minimal annotation. The main criterion for inclusion was "to illuminate Roosevelt �not necessarily the events or persons of which he wrote" �a goal that Brands admirably achieves. The TR who emerges from these pages appears in all his inquisitiveness, intelligence, energy, and eclectic interests, as well as his stubbornness and biases. Recommended for all libraries., These highlights of Roosevelt's voluminous and candid correspondence... perfectly reflect the high-hearted combativeness of his spirit., With H.W. Brands's briskly and knowledgeably edited The Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt, readers can tap into TR's inner intellectual and emotional life.... Roosevelt is a captivating writer. A reader of extraordinary breadth, he lived a good deal of his life among highly crafted language; and it shows in the sheer pleasure that he took in putting words on paper., The letters provide a vivid reminder of Roosevelt's forceful prose and the depth of his reading. For comprehending Roosevelt's volcanic and shrewd temperament, nothing can match reading his correspondence., Arranged in chronological order from his youth to his dotage, these missives �addressed to an astonishing array of family, friends, and prominent literary, political, and cultural personae �offer an intimate glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of one of the most talented and multidimensional of all the U.S. presidents. Rich in character, context, and content, this superb collection of letters will appeal to both dedicated scholars and casual admirers of Theodore Roosevelt., "Teddy" was in many ways the quintessential American, and this collection of more than 1,000 letters to Jefferson Davis, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Booker T. Washington, Woodrow Wilson and cousin Franklin, to mention just a few of T.R.'s countless correspondents, reveals both the private citizen and public official who shaped America's politics and national character., What a treat it is now to be able to enjoy the letters of Teddy Roosevelt, one of the nation's most intelligent, colorful, and important personalities., Our most learned and our most literary President since Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt was at his energetic, opinionated, and delightful best in his correspondence. H. W. Brands's admirably annotated edition of his letters is the best possible introduction to one of our greatest Presidents., To immerse oneself in these letters is to understand exactly what Henry Adams meant when he wrote that Roosevelt displayed " the quality that medieval theology assigned to God-he was pure act."
