Theodore Roosevelt was frail and weak as a boy, but he lived to make himself a strong man and to become one of the greatest Presidents in our history — and a powerful, courageous force in national and international affairs.

He was much more than a statesman. He was a successful writer, editor, and the author of books on nature, history, travel, and exploration. He was avid of information. He saw the world in the round, much as his cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

He was arbitrary, impulsive, a loyal friend and a mighty hater, no less than a hunter, before the Lord. He was an outdoor man — a huntsman, naturalist and explorer. As a soldier, he won laurels with his Rough Riders at San Juan Hill. He built up the Navy, and checked Japan's ambitions for a generation by sending the battle fleet around the world. He intervened in the Russo-Japanese War and forced a peace. He staved off the First World War by intervention in Morocco, which checkmated the Kaiser. He was a genuine liberal in politics and always fought reactionary interests.

Charles A. Beard in The Presidents in American History says of Roosevelt: "He advocated conservation of the forests . . . the dissolution of 'bad' trusts . . . the stricter regulations of railways. He denounced 'malefactors of great wealth', and militant labor leaders . . . He preached righteousness, denounced 'mollycoddles', scolded conservative members of Congress, and supplied headlines for the newspapers every day."

His death in 1919 marked the passing of a truly great man, whom Kipling commemorated in his famous poem, Great Heart.

From the dust jacket