Product Description

Teddy Roosevelt, the favorite political role model of Bill Clinton and both George Bushes, is legendary for his political acumen and for bending the world to his will. Yet where did he learn how to master the rough-and-tumble of politics? Not by weightlifting and boxing, nor by heading out west to try cattle-ranching, nor even as a Rough Rider in Cuba. He was far more than simply a self-made man or a crusading outsider who reinvented politics wholesale. The story of his political education has never fully been told and is every bit as entertaining as his more famous nonpolitical exploits.

Paul Grondahl knows New York political history as well as anyone, from the long-reigning machine of the Albany Democrats to the great Tammany chieftains who lorded over New York City. After working in the State Senate briefly before turning to journalism and writing about Albany politics and history for the past two decades, he knows the colorful byways and larger-than-life characters who made late nineteenth-century political life into one of the most amusing and fascinating periods in our history. In I Rose like a Rocket, Grondahl reveals the true story of Roosevelt's preparation for the White House: not one of self-making so much as a classic political education. From his earliest days as an assemblyman in Albany to his service as police commissioner in New York and civil service commissioner in Washington, Roosevelt learned invaluable lessons from the giants of his day. He was nearly roughed up twice by Democratic toughs in Albany and he suffered terrible defeats at the more-experienced hands of machine masters "Easy Boss" Thomas C. Platt and "Honest John" Kelly; yet he also learned how to manipulate and co-opt the press, how to harness public pressure and bipartisan allies, and how to fight for his desires from sunrise to sunset and beyond.

The product of Grondhal's research is one of the most important books ever written about Teddy Roosevelt. To learn of the inspirations and motivations of the young TR will cause readers to pause, reexamine, and reinterpret their views of him.

Roosevelt was driven by demons, yet he learned how to harness those inside himself as well as the more fleshly versions who fought him at every turn. The story of his political education is one of the most entertaining, instructive, and inspiring of that of any American president.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1661064 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Albany Times Union reporter Grondahl (Mayor Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma) does an outstanding job of documenting Theodore Roosevelt's evolution from brash young political reformer to shrewd and pragmatic political operator, always with his eye on various idealistic prizes. Grondahl first introduces readers to Roosevelt as a boyish, scrawny 23-year-old arriving in Albany during the snowy January of 1882 for his first term in the New York State legislature. He then proceeds to show how the upstart scion of New York's Knickerbocker elite learned to deal with such corrupt and wily operators as "Big John" McManus, "Boss" Tweed, Roscoe Conkling and Tammany enforcer Richard Croker. As Grondahl painstakingly documents, this phase of Roosevelt's life proved to be a vital first step in his political coming-of-age. What he learned in Albany set the stage for the next round in his education as federal civil service commissioner in Washington, D.C., during the late 1880s and early '90s and his colorful tenure as police commissioner of New York City (1895-1897). Moving through these positions and subsequent posts (assistant secretary of the navy, commander of the Rough Riders, governor of New York, vice-president and president), Roosevelt grew as a politician in ways painted quite deftly by Grondahl. Starting off as an uncompromising but ineffective crusader riding a high horse, Roosevelt ended up as a studied master of brinksmanship and deal maker, capable of forging vital political alliances that resulted in meaningful political reform.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Teddy Roosevelt began his political career in 1882 as an assemblyman in the New York State Legislature. For the 23-year-old, it was a world much different from his life in Manhattan's Gramercy Park neighborhood. A decade later he served two years as New York's governor; he also served as assistant secretary of the navy in Washington, as police commissioner in Manhattan, and in the U.S. Volunteer Cavalry (the Rough Riders) in the Spanish-American War. In 1901, Roosevelt became the vice president under McKinley. Grondahl asserts that it was during Roosevelt's term as governor that he "experimented with the emerging political philosophy he would fully develop during his presidency." He points out that New York politics taught Roosevelt the realities of campaigning for, winning, and retaining office. Drawing on a wealth of material--the bibliography lists almost 100 books--Grondahl has written an imposing biography, detailing Roosevelt's life before becoming president while offering an absorbing look at his family and the politics (much of it corrupt) of that era. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Customer Reviews

First-rate in every way
This is an excellent account of the early political career of
Teddy Roosevelt, state legislator, federal civil service commissioner, NYC police commissioner, Rough Rider, Governor of NY, Vice-President, and you probably know the rest. It is full of wonderful stories, such as TR and reporters combing NYC for policemen who were corrupt or not doing their jobs, the first bicycle policemen which TR organized, his successes and failures, his gift for publicity and cultivation of his image.
With the help of a lot of caffeine, TR worked very hard and learned to work with the less than honest machine politicians. The research seems through and the writing impeccable. A true gem. But, then, the material could not be finer.

Wonderful material
TR has always been one of my two favorite Presidents (the other being JFK), and this book is more than just your typical biography on him. It takes the unique angle of writing only about TR's life and political career before he became President, starting with his childhood and going through his political development, service in government, personal triumphs and tragedies, stint as a Rough Rider, time as Vice President, and finally having the last chapter be about his famous late-night ride to take the Oath of Office after President McKinley finally succumbed to his gunshot wound. We learn about how his experiences during this part of his life formed his political philosophy and development, making this incredible human being into the astute incredible President and politician he became over time. Mr. Grondahl really knows how to do his research and how to make it interesting and relevant instead of just some dry recounting of facts, names, and dates. It was also an added bonus how the author lives in the same area as I do.

What an index!
This book was an interesting look at the early life of Theodore Roosevelt, but the true masterpiece here is the index. Perfectly alphabetical and full of surnames followed by given names, the index deserves a Pulitzer all its own!