The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is a book written by Edmund Morris. Morris skillfully takes the reader through the life of a young boy through his early years all the way until he becomes the president. The book involves Theodore Roosevelt, a young boy born to Mittie and Theodore. As a child, the author takes the reader through the challenges that the boy passed as he works hard and keeps his dreams big ( Sempa, 2016 ). As a child, Roosevelt suffers from health problems, yet his father expects him to remain strong and wake up to the occasion. Challenged, Roosevelt responds and strengthens his body by undertaking a variety of physical exercises. The author moves to the next stage of the lie of the boy, a man who has strong desires for learning and loves reading natural history in his father’s library. The transition of the events from one stage to the other is well-presented by the author in a manner that creates a clear view of the flow of the story.
Roosevelt gets interested in the state politics, and even though many people see him as a young boy without experience, his reputation rises very fast to the surprise of many. His first appointment into the government comes from President Harrison ( Sempa, 2016 ). While working as a civil servant, he emerges out as a reformist who wants to see corruption ended and job appointments done based on qualifications rather than connection. He makes a lot of progress even as he works as a police commissioner where he leads in the fight against corruption. Throughout the book, Morris describes event after the other as he takes the reader through every life stage of Roosevelt. He seems not to ignore anything of importance in his writing because he wants the reader to capture every detail of the life of Roosevelt. Moving all the way from childhood to Harvard University days and then to the state politics, the life and biography of Roosevelt is well-presented by the author using a unique and fascinating approach.
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The author creates an appeal by presenting Roosevelt as a young but determined and intelligent boy. The reader can automatically like the passion and determination of such a young boy yet having great dreams and a lot of passion. Roosevelt develops strong desires to read and study earning him admission into Harvard University even though he was homeschooling. Here, the author provides an insight early enough to make the reader foresee what achievements awaits Roosevelt following his hard work and determination. The most admirable in the book is how the author takes a chronological step throughout as he takes us through the life of the boy who finally becomes the president at a young age. Pursuing a variety of subjects at the university, Roosevelt is presented as an accurate reflection of a determined character who would stop at nothing other than realizing his goals. Roosevelt, however, gets heartbroken by the sudden death of his father, but he realizes that he never wanted to disappoint him and this only motivates him to work more. Here, the author presents Roosevelt to the reader in a way that they can sympathize with him following the sudden death of his father. But the fact that he is not distracted makes him a strong character and creates curiosity about what happens next to the determined young boy.
The book is inspiring, insightful and well-documented in what proves the authors good writing skills and creativity. The most inspiring part of the book is seeing the determination of Roosevelt even after the death of his father. The book covers Roosevelt presidency starting with his vigor that emerges from his frail youthful days. The coverage gives a detailed view of Roosevelt attending Harvard University, getting into politics and later heading to the west where he becomes a cowboy and a rancher. The author makes a reality his book by presenting the historical events as they occur in the life of a young boy throughout his life as a child until he becomes the president at only 42 years. To capture the feelings of the reader and make use of appeal to pathos, the author takes us through a step where Roosevelt undergoes trouble and heartbreak following the death of both his mother as well as Alice, his wife. He met Alice at Harvard University where the two of them fell in love and got married. While his source of determination was his family, he ends up losing both the wife and the mother. Here, the author uses his artistic style to take the reader to a different mood in the book. This is to make the reader sympathize with Roosevelt for the sudden loss of the two of his family members. Left in distraught, Roosevelt seeks solace by traveling to the west. Here, his heart gets healed, and later he returns to the New York City.
Morris brings much life into the extensive biography of Roosevelt. Even though he was not born in the United States, the way he presents his writing shows his prowess and power in writing and illustrates his excellent writing skills. He uses a variety of styles and techniques to tell the story of Roosevelt in a way that appeals to the reader and creates curiosity throughout as one reads the book. The author ignores nothing of importance while writing the story of Roosevelt as he presents the description of all events and places. Roosevelt is presented as a young politician who has won the hearts of many people. He gains a reputation for being a man who makes down much legislation. With a piercing eye for detail and dramatics, the author presents the sudden return of Roosevelt into politics, this time as a reform-minded individual who would entertain no corruption. The narrative is quite thrilling as the author presents the sudden move of Roosevelt into various positions within the government. The author himself views Roosevelt as an irresistible and compelling subject which rests at nothing short of his dreams. He admires his subject, and this is seen in the way he has presented him throughout the book and to create the same admiration in the minds of the reader. Ultimately, the reader will admire the kind of passion this young man has put throughout his childhood despite the challenges that come his way.
Interestingly, the author presents Roosevelt as a hero for being a young reformist leader, and probably the leader Americans had been waiting for. Working as a public servant where he served as a civil service commissioner and later as a New York City police commissioner, Roosevelt demonstrated high levels of competence against his young age that surprised many. This is an exciting display by the author and attention drawing style of writing. It’s quite interesting and attractive to see a young man who grew up through a lot of challenges emerge to become one of the reformist leaders that the country has been yearning for in many years. With over 700 pages in length, “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt” is presented in a detailed manner that allows the reader to grasp every aspect of the life of Roosevelt. The author’s ability to colorfully describe a scene is quite remarkable and impressive. Morris presents his book in a step by step approach, taking the reader through each stage of the life of Roosevelt and describing every event that takes place at each stage. The most exciting part of the book is that it is more reflective and thoughtful as the author takes the reader through various stages in the biography of Roosevelt.
It is also more interesting in the way Morris presents Roosevelt as a young man of high integrity, personality, and masculinity. Roosevelt is a highly energetic person who would never let a moment pass without doing something that is constructive. Reading this book made me want to reread it again and again. I like the way Roosevelt emerges throughout his childhood into politics and progressively becoming a reformer. The book is inspirational and can give some lessons about how one can remain determined and committed to the goals despite the humble beginning. This is one of the excellent biographies in historical times and the most motivational books about real-life achievements. The journey of Roosevelt from a humble boy to the youngest president in the history is so motivating and reveals that nothing is impossible with the right focus and hard work. What motivates me most is to see how Roosevelt lost his father at a young age and later on losing both his mother and wife. At this stage, the reader would have expected that he would finally lose hope about his dreams. Contrary to the expectations of many, he emerges out stronger than ever before, and every setback only comes to him as an added strength.
Roosevelt determination is another admirable quality and the most inspiring attribute. Once he is determined to do something, he cannot change his mind until his mission is accomplished. This is evident when he receives discouragement while joining politics as a young boy with many seeing him as inexperienced. However, Roosevelt would listen to none of these as he continued to pursue his political ambitions. Morris presents the biography of Roosevelt as a true representation of the American dream. He comes out as a reformist leader, a true leader that Americans have all along been looking for. He is determined to see the dreams of Americans come true. This development by Morris is so admirable and encouraging. Seeing a young person rise to be a reformist ad most admired leader challenged and made me realize that it is about the determination and not the age or the beginning that matters.
The author brings much reality into the bibliography of Roosevelt using his unique writing style and presentation. Having been previously involved in reading diaries, letters, interviewing people and studying prior works, Morris had gained enough experience to engage a variety of storytelling techniques to present the life of Roosevelt. What is more fascinating is that the author provides an extensive background coverage of the people, places and all events that surround the main character. While the author writes for the students of history, the way he presents events will make the story more interesting to all categories of people. Even though the author writes more about the historical background, he demonstrates that he is knowledgeable about the political events of the country.
The presentation of the author and the use of literary and philosophical insights uncover some of the aspects of Roosevelt characters and personality that even himself may not have been aware. The book is ultimately fabulous, fascinating and rewarding due to its insight and inspirational approach. While the impatient readers may not like the book because it is too lengthy, it indeed provides a good experience and knowledge that can inspire and motivate young people to remain focused towards their dreams.
Reference
Sempa, F. P. (2016). A Most Glorious Ride: The Diaries of Theodore Roosevelt, 1877 ‐ 1886. Edited by Edward P. Kohn. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2015. 284 pp. Presidential Studies Quarterly , 46 (1), 218-219.
