OK. Here's my definition of fanatic. After just finishing a wonderful extended look at Teddy Roosevelt post-presidency ("Colonel Roosevelt" - reviewed here and given 5 Stars last month); I went back and re-read David McCullough's excellent biography of Teddy's family history and his early years.

Don't let anyone convince you that "nurture" isn't a powerful contributor to who we are. Not the exclusive contributor -- Teddy's own brother Elliot bears witness to that -- but powerful, nonetheless. Two tidbits I was reminded of here: the strong influence Teddy's Southern mother, Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt, had on his view of the world. And the indefatigable ball of energy Roosevelt willed himself to become. He wasn't necessarily stronger or more right then his opponents, it's just that his stamina was unmatched. Reminded me of a family story where one child was coaching another: "you just have to keep asking, because you never know when they'll say yes!" In many ways, that is the most transparent and childlike characteristic of this rough rider.

Combination biography of Teddy Roosevelt’s early years and historical portrait of a time and class. This is a book which emphasizes letters, much to my pleasure. McCullough writes good history in the way that he can pick just the right details to give you as complete a picture of people as possible without droning on for pages about, oh just for an example, what George Washington ate for breakfast on each successive day of the week. The portrait of aristocratic life in New York in the last decades of the nineteenth century is vivid in its privilege. Teddy’s story, when it slowly emerges from the background detail, is irritating in the way that he is a man who succeeded given every possible advantage and opportunity to do so. This should not, but does, lessen the impact of his expansive personality and intellect. I really don’t like this sort of reverse classism in myself or others, but I did eventually stop mentally deconstructing it when I got to the part about Teddy, the great outdoorsman, going out west with a bowie knife made by Tiffany’s. Because some things you’ve just got to laugh at. Still, this is an intriguing portrait of the family and Teddy’s early years, particularly the impact of his childhood battles with asthma and prolonged illness.

Audible credit 19 hours 22 min. Narrated by Nelson Runger (A)

4.5 stars only because I wanted more. I wanted McCullough to follow through Roosevelt's rise in politics and then his story after leaving the White House. Now I hope to find an interesting biography of Roosevelt the President. I would also like to listen to River of Doubt by Candice Millard.

The focus of the title "The Story of an Extraordinary Family and a Vanished Way of Life" is an introduction to a truly iconic family of whom the parents are both deserving of their own story. I felt like a fly on the wall observing the adventures and unconventional educations of Theodore and Mittie's four children, of whom their least likely child would grow up to be President. How emotionally tense the years during the Civil War must have been for Middie, her mother, and sister even though they lived secure in New York City. After the war the family travels abroad in Eurrope for a year, and then they manage another trip up the Nile on a boat rented by father Roosevelt.
The Roosevelt family wrote thousands of letters revealing not only their activities but their indidual personalities which were a primary source for the book. The letters are housed at the Harvard Library.
One last remark about the content is the speech written by Teddy and delivered to the residents of the county in the Dakota badlands on July 4,1886. Its content is stirring and as relevant in the 21st century as when it was written.
This is a book I'll read again next year!

There are still two more books written by David McCullough that I plan to listen to before the end of 2022--The Pioneers and Brave Companions. Just when I have discovered McCullough's great histories, he is taken from us.

This book took me months to wade through, while I put it down to read another, went back to it, put it down again to read another, etc. Often it would put me to sleep. In short, I am not sure why everyone likes David McCullough's writing, though I shouldn't say that without reading one or two of his others.

What I didn't like about the book: 1. It wasn't written in a linear timeline; he jumped around or wasn't clear on when things he covered occurred. 2. He dropped all kinds of names of New York politicians in the late 1800's and early 1900's, as well as important New York families of the time. I didn't know who any of them were, nor did I care, but it seemed to me that since he mentioned them, they were significant for some reason. He should have told us why.
3. The book ends when Teddy Roosevelt is 29 years old, I guess because the rest of his life is easily researched in other works. But it seemed to me a weird and abrupt ending.

What I liked about the book: I liked learning things about Teddy R. that I never would have otherwise known. He was a complex man, and from his beginings, a scrawny, sickly kid who I think no one would have thought would amount to much else than being the son of a rich man. He is a great example of working hard to overcome limitations.

Summary: I thought my interest in history would be well-served by reading books by McCullough, who as a popular history writer should be right up my alley, since I think I would be bored by academic history coverage. While the book had a lot of interesting information, I found that McCullough's style didn't fit my needs.

I will be finishing this book later today, but I just want to say that this is the best biography I have ever read. It gives a vivid and wonderful look at Theodore Roosevelt's early life and his family. HIs mother Martha "Mittie" and father Theodore Roosevelt Sr seem like wonderful people in their own right. I think the author of this book might be a little in love with Martha. He talks about her in such glowing terms.
The book follows Theodore from the time when he was a young child with asthma through year long vacations through Europe and on the Nile, through his time at Harvard and family tragedy up to the time he begins moving towards political office. It makes it clear that his parents, especially his father, had a profound effect on his life. I know now when the Night in the Museum movies have him at the Natural History Museum since his father was a big part of the founding of that museum. This is a truly beautiful and easy to read book that is well researched that I would highly recommend. I learned a tremendous amount.
I plan on giving it my highest rating 5 stars.

An exhaustive report of Theodore Roosevelt's early and adult life. While I enjoyed learning more about this larger-than-life figure, this book felt a bit tedious at times. McCullough does an excellent job of using details of the Roosevelt's family life to paint a vivid picture of what life was like for their family, however, this bled into trite as the pages seemed to drag on at certain points.

Few times in life does a book come along that gives one pause.

I found myself captivated by the story of the Roosevelt family and especially with Teddy Jr who would become our 26th president.

The man is a legend. I had no idea his health was so awful as a child, nor did I really know he was an aristocrat. The way Theodore comes into himself after his wife passes made me think of some of the great conversion stories that exist. It fits right in.

This needs to be an HBO series in the vein of John Adams. I can't believe it isn't yet. I'll adapt it if no one else wants to ;)

Anyway, great friggin book. Not the last time I'll read it.

It should be a crime to write a biography this good and end the biography halfway through the figure's life without writing any sequel to finish it out. I'm going to need to find another biographer to finish the job that McCullough left off here...

All that aside, this was truly excellent. It gave a rather full picture of Roosevelt's early life, and I found the politics of the late 19th century to be quite fascinating. A Republican party that's being corrupted by lust for power and choosing to elect a nominee who's rather corrupt but is known for being a great "fighter" against the opposition? Wonder where we've seen that... The comparisons I drew between the Republican party then and now were interesting--and I also found great interest in how Roosevelt sought to navigate those challenges himself.

All-in-all, I was left with a clear impressions of Roosevelt's courage and moral resolve, as well as the complexities of compromise in difficult political situations, all in the context of a boy who learned to make himself something and become like his father. Just wish the biography didn't end right when things were getting interesting!

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Excellent).

The main reason I give this book a 3 is that I am comparing it to other David McCullough books I've read, and this is weaker than those. The beginning is great, Teddy's childhood and the detail about his amazing father is fascinating.I love the eccentricities of his parents and the luxurious vacations they took as a family. Even his stay at Harvard and his early marriage was interesting - but once it started to get into the detail of his early political career and his time as a rancher in the Badlands, it got mired down in detail. It became too much about minute facts and not enough of the story itself. I really like McCullough when he quotes letters and writes biography as a story. This definitely got a bit slow toward the end, but I understand he was trying to wrap it up. There is so much more to the Teddy Roosevelt story, and I know that I will read more about him.

This is a book about the early life of Theodore Roosevelt. I would argue that this book is divided into two parts - Theodore's childhood and adolescence, and then his beginnings in politics. The first half of the book is more of a biography of the Roosevelt family rather than Theodore which is pretty interesting and gives us the necessary context to examine Theodore's actions and motivations throughout adulthood. He clearly modeled himself on his father or rather his youthful interpretation of his father. I did however find this portion of the book to be pretty slow paced. The book really picks up steam in the second half though as it begins to detail Theodore's burgeoning political career in the state assembly and as a Republican party delegate. This part I found very interesting and readable. I understand the scope of this book was only do detail Theodore's early life and political career, but at the end I was left wanting more - hoping that this book continued to detail his involvement in the Spanish-American War, NYC Police Commissioner, Governor, President, etc. But I'm sure there are plenty of other great books out there I can read to fill me in on the details.

Though this book could not be classified as a regular biography, as the story of Teddy Roosevelt ended in this volume before the famous parts even began, it was still a joy to read. David McCullough is easily one of my favorite authors. I’ve read over half of the books he’s written, and he always writes in a style that appeals to me. He often makes his nonfiction works read with the energy of great fiction. Though I would not label this volume my favorite of his books that I’ve read, I still enjoyed it. He painted a vivid portrait of all the foundational elements of Teddy Roosevelt’s life.

Teddy Roosevelt was not really cut from the same cloth as other men who held the office before him. His family was filthy rich. The hardships of the average citizen he could only see vaguely from a distance. I almost find it surprising that he became the rugged man he was with a high society background in New York City as he had.

A few things stand out from this early period of his life. His family adored him. For some reason, everyone in the family decided he was the most important person in their family from a young age. He faced horrific asthmatic attacks, and there was doubt on many occasions that he would even live to adulthood. That desire to live “the strenuous life” flamed up early, even before he had the health to really carry it out. He was able to see much of the world including Europe and the holy land, which was unknown to most Americans in those days.

He revered his father, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. His father was a kind family man. He really didn’t have to work in the family business as he inherited his fortune, but he was often involved in major philanthropic efforts. He invested time in his family. Teddy Roosevelt’s deep respect of his father at times stressed him as he sought to live out the highest expectations that would please his father. While Teddy was at Harvard, his father died. He suffered greatly with stomach cancer and Teddy was grief stricken that he could not do more to help his father. Still, his father was a moral man and stressed morals to Teddy. To a great degree, Teddy held to those morals. His father also exposed him to Christianity, took him to church, and taught him the Bible. I could not tell from reading this book if Teddy had a personal faith in Jesus Christ, but it certainly impacted the man that he was.

Teddy met and married a beautiful young lady. While he served in the New York State house, his wife became sick in what was expected to be a routine delivery of their first baby. At the same time, his mother became sick. They were all in the same house while Teddy was away. Teddy rushed back, but both died just a couple days apart. As is often the case, tragedy molds a person and makes them more fit for greatness.

I look forward to reading a full biography of Teddy Roosevelt somewhere down the line, but this book is still a worthy read for either presidential biography lovers or McCullough fans. The book ended after Teddy put his life back together after some ranching in North Dakota and married his second wife. I finished the book thinking why didn’t McCullough just finish it. Had he done so, the book would’ve likely have been as great as “John Adams” or “Truman”. All in all, it is still an outstanding volume.

I listened to this as an audiobook. A thorough and well documented biography of young Teddy Roosevelt, the family he grew up in, and the things that made him the person we all know and love. David McCullough leaves no stones unturned in his excellent research and writing. Big time kudos to the author on a well-done manuscript.

I won't deny it and freely admit that I'm a big TR fan. I find him to be one of the most interesting and successful US presidents. Bigger than life and full of energy. The lefties decry him because he was a progressive Republican who got things done. And these were progressive and worthy thing. National Parks, conservation, busting the trusts of big corporations, etc. Things that are the ideals of today's Democrats but they were first championed by this great Republican President.

This book details his family background: his upbringing, his childhood, his poor health,, his asthma, his college days, the personal tragedies and the way he overcame it. It also tells of the western adventurer he was. After his wife Alice died shortly after birthing their daughter, he- like many great men- went into the "wilderness" to find himself and become the great man we know as Teddy Roosevelt. Out in the badlands of the Dakota territories he shot grizzly bears, buffalo, branded cattle, broke mustangs, and brought rustlers to justice. He was a man who stood tall among his fellow man. There's a reason he's immortalized on Mount Rushmore!

For those who don't care for him or his accomplishments, I say... BULLY!