The subtitle reads ""An Account of the Roosevelts and their Kin as Travelers, from 1615 to 1938."" Sounds pretty pedantic, doesn't it? But it isn't. It is very entertaining reading, crammed with interest in various bits of Americana, revealing pictures of real life in early settlements, and in far corners of the world. Part of it is given in actual letters, but the connecting material is excellent, spirited and vigorous and entertaining. Trade, commerce, finance, religion, adventure, the world around -- a many-faceted picture, source material of contemporary interest and value. I liked it. The Roosevelt name will peak public interest. Hall Roosevelt is a distant cousin of the President's and the final episode is an actual personal experience on the youthful F.D.R.'s boat in Nova Scotia.