Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest president in American history and one of its most forceful. Born into privilege but weakened by childhood asthma, he forged himself into a robust outdoorsman, Rough Rider, and progressive reformer. As the 26th president he expanded the power of the federal government, broke up industrial trusts, mediated labor disputes, protected roughly 230 million acres of public land, and began construction of the Panama Canal. He won the Nobel Peace Prize, sent the Great White Fleet around the world, and later ran for president again as the candidate of his own Progressive Party. This biography traces the full arc of his life—from the New York brownstone where he was born to Sagamore Hill, where he died—examining both his extraordinary achievements and the contradictions of his era.
Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest president in American history and one of its most forceful. Born into privilege but weakened by childhood asthma, he forged himself into a robust outdoorsman, Rough Rider, and progressive reformer. As the 26th president he expanded the power of the federal gove...