The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America

I wonder about the people who gave this a good rating. Brinkley cannot write in any way that resembles interesting, he plays with facts to the point that you cannot trust much of anything he writes, and he is completely unable to draw any substantive conclusions from his ramblings. I would never go to hear him speak, but I've also heard that he will put you to sleep when at the lectern. A one star is generous. ( )

So, first of all let me say, I love Teddy Roosevelt. I think I may have an unnatural obsession with him, especially considering the giant mustache he sported which is usually a turnoff for me. His conservationist side is one of the main things that I appreciate about him. That made The Wilderness Warrior a huge draw for me.
Unfortunately, this book just didn't do T.R. justice. First of all, the editing was borderline offensive. I know I shouldn't hold that against the author, but it was awful. There were instances where the same sentences were placed one right after the other in slightly different wording. I'd imagine Douglas Brinkley put them both in there to determine which one sounded better later, but somehow they both made it into the book. Gah. This happened on multiple occasions. I assume it was corrected in later editions, but it definitely took away from my experience with the book. The editor (if there was one) could also easily have done away with about 200 pages of the book and no information that the author wanted to relay would have been neglected.
Somehow the author took one of the most interesting characters in history (IMO) and made him seem dull. Most of the chapters read more like a textbook. Which I suppose would have been fine if that were the point. I prefer my biographies to have a little more life to them. David McCullough's Mornings On Horseback is a great example of a biography done well. I suggest you read that one instead if you're looking to read about Teddy Roosevelt.
The idea of this book was better than it's execution. I was really excited to read about this aspect of T.R.'s life and was thrilled that there was a book dedicated to it. If the author had been able to express his ideas in a more succinct way, it might have been an easier and more interesting read. ( )

Although this book was massive, it is a great read for anyone who likes Theodore Roosevelt. Most books look at his entire life and actions, while this one focuses specifically on his conservationist and naturalist efforts. It was amazing to see how much T.R. influenced the current national park and wildlife systems and how modern his views on conservation were. ( )

A highly detailed compilation of facts and observations about President Theodore Roosevelt's views and activities as a naturalist, beginning at boyhood and ending abruptly pretty much with the end of his presidency in 1909. With 817 pages of text, The Wilderness Warrior is a long, slow read; perhaps more useful as reference material than a popular history.

What I liked most about this book: the passages relating to some of the organizations and individuals who made great contributions to the conservation movement, but who are less well known than Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, John Muir, and the Sierra Club; for example, the Boone and Crockett Club, the American Bison Society, the Audubon Society, the Bronx Zoo, the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Zoological Society, Presidents Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison, US Congressman John F. Lacey, Robert B. Roosevelt, John Burroughs, Guy Bradley, William L. Findley, C. Hart Merriam, and George Bird Grinnell.

This massive tome could use a good edit, due to its numerous redundant passages and fairly sizeable number of grammatical and typographical errors. Polar bears, for example, most assuredly do not come to the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, much less "in huge numbers" (p. 806). ( )

An intense,encompassing and extremely enlightening book on Theodore Roosevelt a man of multiple talents and accomplishments.

Weighing in at over 900 pages this dense volume keeps the reader intrigued through Roosevelt's boyhood fascination with ornithology and the Roosevelt Museum; his Harvard years and his relationship with his uncle Robert B. Roosevelt; his marriages and children's lives; his 'strenuous life' philosophy and western travels and explorations; his entry into politics and it's formation of his policies of conservationism and land management and sustainability. Through cabinet posts, Governorship of New York state and ultimately the White House.

Theodore (don't call him Teddy!...) proved years ahead of his time in developing the system of National Parks, Forests, Monuments, Bird Reserves that has American citizenry forever in his debt. Saving almost 225 million acres of wilderness and natural treasures to be enjoyed by generations of people into eternity.

A deft politician, he brought into federal service many types of experts on birds, fish, forestry, land use and conservation and other sciences of nature, giving them power to enact governmental policies and help guide America to a place at the forefront of the world's nations in wilderness preservation and governmental ecological planning for the future.

One drawback of the book is it's sheer size. The material described is densely packed on the page and demands to be savored and not skimmed lightly through. This require an amount of commitment as a reader and believe me it's worth it.

You'll come away with a new found sense of respect and admiration for our twenty -sixth president, a true wilderness warrior. ( )