Theodore Roosevelt and the Smithsonian Expedition to British East Africa, 1909-1910

by Frank H. Goodyear III, Lonnie G. Bunch III (foreword)

Accompany Theodore Roosevelt on his Smithsonian safari to East Africa with new context and perspectives

Features 120 historic duotone photographs

Immediately after Theodore Roosevelt left the White House, he led an African expedition for the Smithsonian that collected more than 23,000 specimens for its new natural history museum. Alongside his son, Kermit, Smithsonian naturalists, and African porters, they brought back a wide range of plants, fish, reptiles, and big game. This book takes readers along for the journey, and

More than 100 expedition photographs printed with stunning reproduction qualityExcerpts from Roosevelt's firsthand account in African Game Trails Historical context and contemporary commentary from author Frank H. Goodyear III that provides an in-depth understanding of the expedition and its significanceA foreword from Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie G. Bunch III, who provides nuanced insight on Roosevelt’s complicated legacyAn afterword from Dino J. Martins, a Kenyan entomologist and evolutionary biologist, on the role of African communities during the expedition
Theodore Roosevelt and the Smithsonian Expedition to British East Africa, 1909-10 contextualizes the expedition, explores its impact, and reflects on Roosevelt's complex legacy as a president and hunter-conservationist.

Genres: Presidents

Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2025

Reviews

[MonkeyBusiness · Rating 5 out of 5]

The blurb provided for the Kindle edition doesn't adequately. These excerpts from the Preface: "The Roosevelt-Smithsonian Expedition to British East Africa in 1909-1910 represented a significant moment for American science, for America's understanding of Africa, and for the Smithsonian Institutions, an organization founded in 1846 in Washington DC, for the 'increase and diffusion of knowledge.' Theodore Roosevelt's role in the expedition and his 1910 book African Game Trails: An Account of the African Wanderings of an American Hunter-Naturalist made the safari widely known throughout the United States and around the globe. It popularized research in the natural sciences and introduced many Americans to Africa, a continent that most non-Africans little understood and frequently misrepresented. ... As popular and significant as it was, the expedition was controversial in its own day. The public did not wholly celebrate the vast quantity of collected specimens, including endangered animals such as the white rhinoceros. In a dawning age of conservation and growing awareness of what the loss of species and habitat might mean, many people abhorred what they perceived as the wanton destruction of wildlife, especially by a former president. For many Americans and others abroad, especially Africans, the expedition also exemplified America's continued participation in a wider enterprise and the ongoing 'Scramble for Africa" by the world's great powers. ... More than a hundred years later these controversies remain resonant, some more so than others. The removal of Roosevelt's statue outside New York's American Museum of Natural History in 2022, the global campaign to ban the ivory trade, and the often-heated discourse about the practice of hunting and exhibiting exotic animals suggest that this expedition and others like it remain fraught with larger issues. In addition, the legacy of imperialism in postcolonial Africa persists as a topic that Africans and non-Africans alike continue to debate. Not the first safari by non-Africans, the Roosevelt-Smithsonian Expedition to British East Africa was nonetheless widely influential not only in popularizing big-game hunting but also in furthering attitudes and policies that demeaned Africans and denigrated their homelands. An important chapter in Roosevelt's life, this expedition highlights his lifelong interest in hunting, natural history, and exploration, while also laying bare a host of contradictory and at times inflammatory sentiments about him and other non-Africans drawn to these lands."

Goodyear does a masterful job providing the historical context of the photos. Personally, I find Teddy (those he disliked being called that) to be one of the most fascinating characters in history. I never miss an opportunity to read something new about him, and Goodyear's book is a keeper, so it has a prominent place in my library - alongside an original copy of African Game Trails.