I was sent a free copy of The Old Lion by Jeff Shaara from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
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About The Old Lion:
In one of his most accomplished, compelling novels yet, acclaimed New York Times bestseller Jeff Shaara accomplishes what only the finest historical fiction can do – he brings to life one of the most consequential figures in U.S. history – Theodore Roosevelt – peeling back the many-layered history of the man, and the country he personified.
From the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, from the waning days of the rugged frontier of a young country to the emergence of a modern, industrial nation exerting its power on the world stage, Theodore Roosevelt embodied both the myth and reality of the country he loved and led.
From his upbringing in the rarefied air of New York society of the late 19th century to his time in rough-and-tumble world of the Badlands in the Dakotas, from his rise from political obscurity to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, from national hero as the leader of the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War to his accidental rise to the Presidency itself, Roosevelt embodied the complex, often contradictory, image of America itself.
In gripping prose, Shaara tells the story of the man who both defined and created the modern United States.
About the Author:
JEFF SHAARA is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of seventeen novels, including Rise to Rebellion and The Rising Tide, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure – two novels that complete his father’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
My Opinion:
I will admit that going into this book I new very little about Theodore Roosevelt – the basics really, nothing more than one might learn in school or pick up here and there by reading a bit now and then. I’d never really delved into a book fiction or non that focused solely on this great man.
Until now.
Mr. Shaara is talented writer and obviously the topic of his book had quite the story to tell. So be prepared for an informative, entertaining, hard to put down novel detailing the life of our 26th President.
When one thinks of Teddy Roosevelt one tends to think of an explorer, a “man’s man”, a tough guy for sure. What I didn’t know is that he suffered from asthma as a child and it left him sometimes feeling an outsider in his own family as his father felt it a failing somehow. As if!
But it certainly didn’t stop him, did it? For this is the man who seemingly did it all. He traveled out West before it was an easy thing to do. He had a bison ranch – although that did not fare so well. Nor did his first marriage but the second one thrived.
It was after his forays out West and with his second wife that he embarked upon his political career and as we know that is where his true mark was made. New York politics led the way and then he was Mr. President for two terms that led to some major changes in the country.
The book details Mr. Roosevelt’s life from its humble beginnings to its end all with honesty and the honor it deserves.
Rating:
5
