Theodore Rex

Written by:
Edmund Morris
Narrated by:
Harry Chase

Abridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
13
Narrator
5
Release Date
November 2001
Duration
9 hours 0 minutes
Summary
The most eagerly awaited presidential biography in years, Theodore Rex is a sequel to Edmund Morris’s classic bestseller The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. It begins by following the new President (still the youngest in American history) as he comes down from Mount Marcy, New York, to take his emergency oath of office in Buffalo, one hundred years ago.

Theodore Rex, full of cinematic detail, moves with the exhilarating pace of a novel, yet it rides on a granite base of scholarship. TR’s own voice is constantly heard, as the President was a gifted letter writer and raconteur. Also heard are the many witticisms, sometimes mocking, yet always affectionate, of such Roosevelt intimates as Henry Adams, John Hay, and Elihu Root. (“Theodore is never sober,” said Adams, “only he is drunk with himself and not with rum.”)

Interspersed with many stories of Rooseveltian triumphs are some bitter episodes-notably a devastating lynching-that remind us of America’s deep prejudices and fears. Theodore Rex does not attempt to justify TR’s notorious action following the Brownsville Incident of 1906-his worst mistake as President-but neither does this resolutely honest biography indulge in the easy wisdom of hindsight. It is written throughout in real time, reflecting the world as TR saw it. By the final chapter, as the great “Teddy” prepares to quit the White House in 1909, it will be a hard-hearted reader who does not share the sentiment of Henry Adams: “The old house will seem dull and sad when my Theodore has gone.”
Reviews
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Andrew K.

great read...or listen!!

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Brad B.

Great book. Unfortunately felt like this audio version has some issues. It sounds poorly recorded at times, almost like a cheap copy of a nicely done audio book. It also is the abridged version and I get left with the feeling I missed out on good things from the book.

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Paul C

Spellbinding book about Teddy Roosevelt's presidential years and the middle installment of Morris's acclaimed trilogy. It's a literary approach to the genre with a great hook -- the scene of McKinley's assassination and Roosevelt's swearing in.

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Edward Reynolds

The book, Theodore Rex, is a fantastic second installment in the Theodore Roosevelt trilogy by Edmund Morris. My only complaint is that the audio recording quality is not very good and sounds scratchy and took away from the experience a small amount. Besides that, it was a fantastic book.

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