T.R., H. W. Brands
T.R., H. W. Brands
1 Rating(s)
List: $49.99 | Sale: $35.00
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T.R.
The Last Romantic

Author: H. W. Brands

Narrator: Matt Kugler

Unabridged: 35 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 08/13/2019


Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author, an acclaimed biography of President Teddy Roosevelt
Lauded as "a rip-roaring life" (Wall Street Journal), TR is a magisterial biography of Theodore Roosevelt by bestselling author H.W. Brands. In his time, there was no more popular national figure than Roosevelt. It was not just the energy he brought to every political office he held or his unshakable moral convictions that made him so popular, or even his status as a bonafide war hero. Most important, Theodore Roosevelt was loved by the people because this scion of a privileged New York family loved America and Americans.
And yet, according to Brands, if we look at the private Roosevelt without blinders, we see a man whose great public strengths hid enormous personal deficiencies; he was uncompromising, self-involved, and a highly imperfect brother, husband, and father.
Beautifully written, and powerfully moved by its subject, TR is the classic biography of one of America's greatest and most complex leaders.

About H. W. Brands

H. W. Brands taught at Vanderbilt University and Texas A&M University before joining the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is the Dickson Allen Anderson Centennial Professor of History. A writer on American history and politics, his books include Traitor to His Class, Andrew Jackson, The Age of Gold, and The First American. Several of his books have been bestsellers, and two, Traitor to His Class and The First American, were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. He lectures frequently on historical and current events, and can be seen and heard on national and international television and radio programs.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Steve

[URL not allowed] “T.R.: The Last Romantic” is H.W. Brands’s 1997 biography of Theodore Roosevelt. Brands is a professor at the University of Texas, a prolific author and a two-time Pulitzer finalist. He has written nearly thirty books on a wide range of historical topics inclu......more

Goodreads review by Chuck

Another book that I loved that no one who follows me will ever read. An 800 page behemoth that took a real commitment to get through. Fortunately it was well written so was like reading a novel instead of a textbook ( talking bout you “Edison “). This isn’t a cursory history; 400 pages till he become......more

Goodreads review by Dustin

Excellent biography of one of the archetypal faces of America. Per the title, Brands goes as much into TR's romantic ideas of himself (and America's changing ideas of itself) as the literal events of his presidency - which it explores with excellent personal context. The significance of TR's early ac......more

Goodreads review by Bill

Great book!! H.W. Brands really has a way of putting together a biography without it bogging one down in facts. I gained an increased understanding about Theodore Roosevelt I hadn't remembered after all the history classes I sat through in school. This was NOT a book that sang nothing but praises an......more

Goodreads review by Chad

A sprawling and thought-provoking portrait of a President I thought I knew a lot about, but really didn't. If I'm being perfectly honest, regardless of whether or not this was Brands' intent - my perception of TR was pretty tarnished by this book. He had a massive chip on his shoulder, an inferiorit......more


Quotes

"A rip-roaring life of Theodore Roosevelt, in my view the most lovable, fascinating and creative of American presidents. Every red-blooded American should read this entertaining book.... Mr. Brands calls T.R. the last romantic, and it is true."—Paul Johnson, Wall Street Journal

"Roosevelt's life in Mr. Brands' able hands is a demonstration of the remarkable power of the human will. Roosevelt literally created the character he lived out, and then lived within it until he finally became his creation."—Washington Post

"Brands makes the case that Roosevelt believed in heroes and measured himself against giants of history and literature.... He puts them in vivid context with often wry narration and an impressive depth of historical research."—USA Today

"Brands outlines with suitable vigor the most important aspects of T.R.'s presidential years.... It seems likely that T.R. will stand for some time as the standard one-volume life."—Chicago Sun Times

"Brands shows how this hero of the charge up San Juan Hill, more than anyone else, led the United States onto the world stage."—Los Angeles Times

"Brands' narrative is lucid, fast-moving and unblended by hero-worship. In a single volume he has packed Roosevelt's 60 years of ambition, adventure, expediency, achievement, and, finally, frustration at having peaked too soon."—Publishers Weekly