Looking for a good Teddy Roosevelt bio

The three volume biography by Edmund Morris is excellent.

David McCullough has a good one that only goes to Teddy’s first like 25 years calling Mornings on Horseback

I can’t tell you however if there’s stuff in this book that isn’t in the comprehensive ones that are/will be listed in this thread

The three books by Edmond Morris is about as in depth as you can get.

The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin is actually a really great read because it’s not only a great bio of Teddy, but she gives a great in depth look at Taft as well.

The two were contemporaries that came up at the same time, became great allies to the point that Taft became his hand picked successor, but ultimately rivals.

I knew a lot about Teddy but Taft has been kind of forgotten and I have to say I gained great respect for him and sort of lost some for TR in the way he handled their relationship.

It’s also, as the name suggests, a study in the office of the Presidency itself at a time of intense change throughout the country and looks deeply into the role of the press and their influence on politics and society in general.


It’s honestly a fascinating read about a fascinating period of history in the same way her Team of Rivals encapsulated Lincoln and his cabinet during The Civil War.

Leadership in Turbulent Times has a section on TR, very good read.

I just finished Edmund Morris’s first book, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. Absolutely breathtaking in the breadth and scope of the life of TR. The political arena was SO dirty and controlled, very reminiscent of the way it is today.

He would tear Biden apart with his bare hands if he were alive. Starting on the second book, Theodore Rex.