The Letters of Theodore Roosevelt constitute a major contribution to the field of American history and literature. At the same time, they present an autobiography of matchless candor and vitality. They are at once a mine of information for the historian, a case study in astute and vigorous political leadership, and a delight to the general reader. All the letters needed to reveal Roosevelt's thought and action in his public and private life are included, with appropriate editorial comment; and each is printed in its entirety.
With the addition of this final installment, about 6,000 letters will have been published out of the 100,000 which Theodore Roosevelt wrote between 1868 (when he was 10) and the day of his death in January, 1919. During the last ten years of his life Roosevelt plunged into the African jungle; he visited Kaiser Wilhelm II; he led the Progressive Movement, and as a Bull Moose was defeated in 1912―permitting Woodrow Wilson to defeat William Howard Taft for the Presidency. Then, explorer once again, he escaped with his life from the wilds of Brazil, campaigned for United States' participation in World War One, and died peacefully as his cousin was on the threshold of a dynamic career.
Theodore Roosevelt's letters are a treasury of information about the issues, the people, and the temper of his period. Here are available documents which tell of his thought and action in all the major and many of the minor undertakings of his public and private life. Each letter is printed in its entirety. Both in content and presentation, The Letters of Theodore Roosevelt constitute a contribution to the field of American history and literature whose value can hardly be exaggerated. At the same time they present an autobiography of matchless candor and vitality.
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., also known as T.R., and to the public (but never to friends and family) as Teddy, was the twenty-sixth President of the United States, and a leader of the Republican Party and of the Progressive Movement.
He became the youngest President in United States history at the age of 42. He served in many roles including Governor of New York, historian, naturalist, explorer, author, and soldier (posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2001 for his role at the Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War).
Roosevelt is most famous for his personality: his energy, his vast range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" persona.