When I was a boy, I read a short biography of Theodore Roosevelt that focused on his childhood and was very intrigued. This is the first biography. I have read about him since then, and I had forgotten how much that first biography impacted me. I am fascinated by his personality and leadership.

This book did not have nearly as much dramatic flare as other McCullough books I have read, but I still enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed learning about Theodore Roosevelt’s father, Theodore Roosevelt, Senior and his character. It was also interesting to learn about the other members of the Roosevelt family, each fascinating in their own right. And it was also intriguing to learn about Roosevelt’s first marriage that ended in tragedy, and how that resulted in his North Dakota years on the badlands.

Makes me want to read another Roosevelt biography! Any recommendations?

A fantastic portrait of a young Teddy who jumps out of the page, no doubt deserving its place as one of his leading biographies.

Teddy Roosevelt was a product of an extraordinary family and an extraordinary time. As a young man, having already experienced much and made a mark on his world, determined his future path that ultimately made him President of the United States, the youngest at 42. McCullough only takes us up to 1886, to a 27 year old Teddy, but he was molded by the events and tragedies of those 27 years, and also by his extraordinary family and late 19th Century New York City. McCullough presents all in warm lively detail with a particular gift for bringing it all to colorful rich life as a good historical fiction novel does. If McCullough skirts over some particulars, or the occasional information drops feel a bit flat, it's is quickly forgiven.

The Roosevelt family, both his immediate family and the extended family, were truly extraordinary. His father, Theodore Sr., was a great philanthropist whose legacy of charitable work is still evident in NYC today. Senior Theodore loved his children and spent an extraordinary amount of time with them considering the norm of that era. It was his father that Teddy spent his life emulating. Mittie, his mother, was a southern belle, a woman of great spirit, intelligence and energy who also had a strong influence on all her children. One of the most interesting chapters was the one in which the immediate family endured the Civil War with Mittie's brothers serving the Confederacy, her family still in the south, yet her husband and his family unionists to which she remained loyal. Senior Theodore did not take up arms out of respect and love for his wife, but the conflicting loyalties created a very strained household no doubt. It was eased by the fact that Senior Theodore and Mittie were a love match, one that seems to have stayed strong. Later, his siblings were to be very important to his success, especially his elder sister Bamie (Anna).

Teddy grew up and called home NYC and, in the summer, the North Shore of Long Island. The Roosevelts were mostly Republicans - with a stray Democrat or two - and when Teddy stood for a seat on the NYS Assembly at the ancient age of 22 he stood as a republican, the party of Lincoln, but with a reform agenda. I'm not a big fan of reading about political strategems or politics in general, but McCullough's description of the Republican National Convention in Chicago 1884 to which Teddy was a delegate at 23, brings to vivid life the pageantry, not just the chaos and brutal politicking, that once accompanied a presidential nomination at the Convention.

Another enormous influence on Teddy was nature, especial birds and mammals, marking him as a true Victorian. it started very young as a result of outings with his father to help ease his asthma attacks (the chapter on asthma and how today's findings illuminate Teddy's first 20 years is so informative). He became fascinated with birds, everything about them, and even learned taxidermy to study them. His first hunting was along the Nile on a family trip where he shot birds to study. His interest in hunting for sport did evolve and it was on a trip to 'bag his Buffalo' that he first saw and fell in love with the Badlands of North Dakota.

McCullough ends with Teddy's years in the Badlands, 1883 - 1886, after which time Teddy has resolved to become a professional politician and puts behind him the defeats and tragedies that informed his earlier years (and to some extent sent him into exile to the Badlands). In fact, on July 4, 1886, he was asked to deliver a speech in the town of Dickinson, ND. Reading it you can't but hear and feel that this was his first 'presidential' speech, the speech of a mature man setting out to claim his future. And he did, returning permanently later that year to NYC, remarrying, and running for NYC mayor by end of 1886.

The rest is history.

A biography covering the early life of Theodore Roosevelt, from his childhood through his years as a Dakota rancher, this book is also a fascinating account of the entire colorful Roosevelt family and the times in which they lived. I could hardly put it down. I especially loved the way the author was able to draw such vivid pictures of this dynamic man -- Roosevelt reading Anna Karenina while guarding thieves at gunpoint...in horseback and dressed in full "dude" outfit, telling his cowboys to "hasten forward, quickly there!"... back east, in top hat and proper coat, entering his house at full speed and bounding halfway up the staircase before the front door slams shut behind him. I found myself inspired by Roosevelt's passionate curiosity and commitment to "the strenuous life."

Once again David McCullough relates the biography of an important historical figure in an elegant narrative fashion. Mornings on Horseback lays out the story of Teddy Roosevelt from his early childhood through his early thirties. So much of what we have been told about Roosevelt is not true, and McCullough lays it out clearly. Roosevelt’s family is the center of his life; his love for his father (also Theodore Roosevelt) is exceptional. His mother Mittie’s southern upbringing and culture also affects him deeply. His willingness to express his love for all in his family is astonishing. The wealth in his family and the opportunities it afforded him are almost overwhelming.

A fascinating biography on the character and life of one of America’s favorite presidents. My favorite themes: As a boy, he, with the care and help of his parents, persevered through his physical weaknesses. This drive and determination continued into adulthood. Nature played a huge role in his health, both physical and mental, as displayed in his visits the Swedish Alps as a cure for childhood asthma, or his Badlands expeditions to sooth his creative blocks and loneliness as an adult. I also loved reading about his close knit family, and how they supported and spurred each other to greatness.

I haven’t read a Presidential Biography in years and I think it is because I couldn’t find the right book on Theodore Roosevelt. This book was very good but only covers his childhood up to the time he returns from the Badlands after he loses both his wife and mother to suddenly to illness. I need to read a second biography to learn about his Presidency though Teddy Roosevelt did much AFTER his presidency as well. This book was a great start!

I enjoyed this book on TR, by David McCullough, although I don't think it was as good as the other two I read by him, John Adams and Truman. I think far too much time was spent on Roosevelt's early battles with asthma. It was interesting reading about it, but just too much time and detail was devoted to it. I would have liked it better if that had been cut shorter and some time was spent on Roosevelt's later political life, rather than ending it basically with his run for Mayor of NYC. All in all, though, it was a good read, especially if you are into political history.

I really enjoyed this, and it was really detailed covering TR’s early life until his second marriage.

DNF (audiobook)

I listened to the audio version of this book. Back in the day I was a history major, so I was trying to get back in the swing of things. Theodore Roosevelt is one of the more interesting presidents IMO. But after 3 discs of listening to random things about his uncle's cousins stepsons wife's kid, I became extremely bored and the book lost me. It was hard to keep track of who was who. When I pick up a book about Teddy Roosevelt, I want to hear about him. Not about everyone in the family BUT him.

Having just finished a book about the Spanish American War and the U.S. military occupation of the Philippines, I decided to proceed to a biography of one of those responsible for all that unneeded misery: Theodore Roosevelt. Having recently read his 1776 with enjoyment, I selected McCullough's Mornings of Horseback.

It wasn't quite what I expected, being a biography of the man and his family going only up to his unsuccessful race for the mayoralty of New York, but perhaps it served as an antidote for my sanctimoniousness. Although very wealthy on all sides of the family, the Roosevelts were not, as McCullough portrays them, moral monsters. Indeed, by their lights, a number of them were selfless philanthropists and public servants. They certainly could have been worse.

McCullough is an exceptionally good writer, capable of engaging the emotions of his readers. Several times he had me chuckling, several times he had me tearing up.

Well written and detailed account of the Roosevelt family and their lives with emphasis on TR. Amazing to read what he overcame as a child and then to see him grow into the man/leader we all know.