American Boy's Life of Theodore Roosevelt

The biography follows Theodore Roosevelt from a fragile childhood through physical recovery via outdoor exercise and athletic pursuits, his Harvard education and early naval scholarship, and his move into reform-minded politics as a state legislator and civil-service reformer. It recounts personal losses, a period as a ranchman and hunter in the West, and later municipal reforms as police commissioner. It describes his tenure in the Navy Department, his organizing of a volunteer cavalry unit that fought at San Juan Hill, and his rapid political ascent to governor, vice-president, and ultimately president, highlighting themes of self-improvement, public duty, and vigorous leadership.