MAN OF ACTION: The Life of Teddy Roosevelt

Bully, but only for its brevity. This is a short short on the stocky striver, T.R. The life is covered--action all the way. For the early years, the middle years, T.R.'s hyperthyroid physical energy and some of his motivations come across. The lack in the book is of any confrontation with the active issues he dealt with or created as a politician. For instance, there are a few paragraphs about his leadership of the Bull Moose. But why did he? His motives may not have been admirable, but the results still fascinate adult historians. Further, his exploits in Cuba get almost as much space as his really weird rise within the Republican Party machine. His politics get kicked under one of those pelts he loved to shoot and cure. It's a run-of-the-juvenile mill T.R., made skinny for skinning through fast.