Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris

Theodore Rex is an immense, detailed, and very specific book. It is 784 pages, or 20 full-length CDs, focusing on the US Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, from September 1901 until March 1909. The book is a sequel to Morris' The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt so, if you're looking for insight into Teddy's youth, background, and pre-Presidency days, you'd be better off looking there, and not in this one.

After making my way though the audio book, I feel I know more about Roosevelt and the politics of 100 years ago, including such figures as John Hay and Elihu Root, than I do about early-21st century Washington politics. Not being an expert in the area, the book was perhaps too detailed for me. I mean, in addition to learning about T.R.'s pre-1901 life, I would have preferred a conclusion discussing his historical significance. Sure, there are some obvious things like the Panama Canal, the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the frenzied creation of national parks and monuments, and the continuing rise of of the US as a naval and world power. (Gee, that's quite a list!) But, one thing that I noticed was that rise of Progressivism. Roosevelt never seemed content with the laissez-faire policies of his day's "Conservatives", but seemed to use the government in a proactive way to bring about what he saw as positive change. And it can be said that after 1904 (where he soundly trounced Democrat Alton Parker) every U.S. Presidential election pitted a candidate who favoured a stronger central government against a candidate who favoured a stronger central government.

And this goes triple for 1912. I suppose I'll have to wait until the sequel comes around to read about the 1912 election, where Roosevelt ran as the candidate of the Progressive Party and came in second to Woodrow Wilson, finishing ahead of his chosen successor to the office, Republican William Howard Taft. (I would have liked this part of history to have been included.)

Is it good? Well, it's hard to rate it against the 20^th-21^st century fiction that I normally rate. But I think this book's audience is self-selecting. If think you'd like a long book on the first Roosevelt's Presidency, I'm sure you'll like this book. If you don't think you'd like it, then I don't suggest you read it.