Theodore Roosevelt has a complicated legacy. To some, he was the quintessential American patriot and hero, a valiant soldier who won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Others remember him as a cultural icon, the man who brandished a “big Stick,” proclaimed the “Square Deal,” led a “Strenuous Life,” and inspired the “Teddy Bear.” He was a farsighted conservationist who essentially founded the modern environmental movement. He was also a legendary hunter. Mark Twain once called him “insane.”
So who was the real Teddy Roosevelt?
Daniel Ruddy’s new biography cuts through the impenetrable tangle of misconceptions and contradictions that have grown up over the last century and obscured our view of a man who remains perhaps the most controversial president in U.S. history. Avoiding the sins of hero worship and character assassination, Ruddy gives the public what is long overdue—a fair-minded and even-handed assessment of a misunderstood American icon.
