TR’s Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, The Great War, and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy
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—Amazon.com
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Winner of the 2019 Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver Medal for US History.
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Finalist, the Theodore Roosevelt Association Book Prize #1 Top Read of 2018-POTUS History Geeks Blog
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Featured on C-SPAN BookTV
An amazingly fresh approach to a much covered subject….
A riveting new account of Theodore Roosevelt’s impassioned crusade for military preparedness as America fitfully stumbles into World War I, spectacularly punctuated by his unique tongue-lashings of the vacillating Woodrow Wilson, his rousing advocacy of a masculine, pro-Allied “Americanism,” a death-defying compulsion for personal front-line combat, a perilously rapprochement with GOP power brokers—and, yes, perhaps, even another presidential campaign. Roosevelt is a towering Greek god of war. But Greek gods begat Greek tragedies. His own entreaties to don the uniform are rebuffed, and he remains stateside. But his four sons fight “over there” with heartbreaking consequences: two are wounded; his youngest and most loved child dies in aerial combat. Yet, though grieving and weary, TR may yet surmount everything with one monumentally odds-defying last triumph. Poised at the very brink of a final return to the White House, death stills his indomitable spirit.
TR’s Last War unveils a sweeping epic not of a lion in winter but a Bull Moose bellowing at a blazing global inferno’s very gates—and ready for one final stampede in.
******************************************************************************************* Praise for TR's Last War:
- "magisterially rigorous ... Pietrusza's prose is sharply buoyant and
transparent ... the story unfolds almost in novelistic fashion ... a fine scholarly achievement: psychologically searching, scrupulously devoted to accuracy, and dramatically gripping.... captivating"
- "Heart-breaking, thought provoking and gripping with a large measure of
wit, David Pietrusza's new "TR's Last War" transports us to those few tragic years, 1916-1919,when America faced two visions of the future. Woodrow Wilson's oratorical Utopianism. Or Theodore Roosevelt's Bully Pulpit chauvinism. The outcome was a surprise."
—Syndicated Radio Host John Batchelor
- "a breathless tour de force . . . a fascinating read, generously mixing
manly doses of war, death, politics, and personal ambition."
—The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era
- "Get [David] Pietrusza's new book, 'TR's Last War' today!"
—CNN Contributor Matt K. Lewis
- "absolutely terrific. All sorts of new info about Teddy Roosevelt and a
time in his life very few people know about. . . . I can't recommend this gem . . . enough. It's absolutely wonderful."
—Frank Morano (AM970, NYC)
- "As much biography as history, David Pietrusza's book reveals the man
and his world in meticulous and scrupulous complexity. . . . a riveting narrative that does full justice to the triumphs and the sorrows of Theodore Roosevelt's life."
- "David Pietrusza has that rare gift of having history read like a novel. The
insults, the egos, the triumphs are all there as we read about the most colorful of all presidents."
- "penetrating . . .incisive . . . Pietrusza . . . firmly guides us through the ins
and outs of Roosevelt's tightly woven rug of life with impeccable sourcing..."
- "Thank you, David Pietrusza! I have read literally dozens of books about
TR and have volumes of all his letters, so what a joy to uncover new views of his majestic life in TR's Last War."
—Dean Karayanis, History Author Show podcast
- "Yet another outstanding work from an exceptionally talented author.
Best historical non-fiction of 2018 (so far!) [August 29, 2018]
". . . One of Pietrusza's many strengths as a writer is his ability to convey to the reader a clear picture of his subject's personality, making us feel as if we have an understanding of who the complex and multifaceted Roosevelt really was, as if we know TR intimately. His description of Roosevelt's last days and the detail of his suffering and incapacity is exceptionally set out. Saving the best for last, the author concludes with a unique yet well-considered theory about Roosevelt's last days, one which Pietrusza acknowledges to be nothing more than speculation, submitted for the reader to consider and do with what he or she will. It is delicious food for thought and is a fitting dessert to a delectable historical biography. "In light of David Pietrusza's past successes as an author writing about presidential history, one wonders what he will do next and how he can possibly top (or even equal) his previous work. That is something to wonder about in the context of his next book. In TR's Last War, he once again lives up to his literary gold standard of making the history of past presidents come to life in a manner that engages and delights his readers." —POTUSGeeks.com
- "This book sparkles. The most enjoyable book about TR I’ve ever read. It
sparkles with fascinating stories and insights into one of America’s most interesting and complex politicians. Unlike other volumes written by historians that gush all over their subjects, Pietrusza provides a balanced treatment. Well worth reading."
—Ron Faucheux, Author and former editor of Campaigns & Elections Magazine
—Blanquita Cullum, former President of the National Association of Radio Talk Show Hosts
—Author and podcaster Halli Casser-Jayne
- "a great book, well worth reading . . . absolutely riveting . . . a brilliant
read"
—John Rothmann (KGO, San Francisco)
- "TR's Last War by America's best historian, David Pietrusza, is
everything you wanted to know about Theodore Roosevelt and about America in the beginning of 20th century."
- "Very eye opening! I love how TR's Last War illuminates a period of TR’s
life other historians gloss over. TR is less of a hero to me now, but more real."
- "Very well written & engaging. Neither hagiographic nor defaming but
well balanced"
—Author and novelist David R. Stokes
- "I've really enjoyed the book, and I recommend it."
—Bob Cudmore, "The Historians" Podcast
- "'TR's Last War' is an insightful read into what political and social life was
like in our country a century ago. It's well worth the trip."
—"The Village Peephole" Blog, Village Library of Cooperstown (NY)
- "well-researched, well-written"
—Richard Haven (WFAW, Fort Atkinson, WI)
- "riveting and readable . . . a fitting companion to Pietrusza's earlier
books"
—Ed Tant, Flagpole Magazine
- "One of the greatest books on Teddy Roosevelt ever written."
—Jordan Thompson, Amazon.com Reviewer
************************************************************************************************ TR's Last War features an incredible cast of characters including:
- Theodore and Edith Roosevelt.
- The four Roosevelt brothers (Ted Jr., Archie, the moody, alcoholic
Kermit, and the doomed beloved youngest son Quentin).
- Fiery daughter Alice Roosevelt "Princess Alice" Longworth.
- Ambitious young Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- Woodrow and Edith Wilson.
- Ex-President William Howard "Big Bill" Taft.
- Controversial media baron William Randolph Hearst.
- Germany's bombastic Kaiser Wilhelm II.
- Massachusetts patrician Senator Henry Cabot Lodge.
- Senators Warren Gamaliel Harding (and his paramour Mrs. Carrie
Phillips), "Fighting Bob" LaFollette, William E. Borah, and Hiram Johnson.
- Secretary of State William Jennings "The Great Commoner" Bryan.
- Anti-war industrialist Henry Ford.
- Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans "The Bearded Iceberg" Hughes.
- Fledgling New Republic staffer Walter Lippmann.
- Shadowy White House advisor Colonel Edward Mandell House.
- General "Black Jack" Pershing.
- Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa.
- Sawdust circuit evangelist Billy Sunday.
- Labor leader Samuel Gompers
- Journalist William Allen White.
- Sculptor-politician Gutzon Borglum.
Along the way you'll also meet:
TR's sisters Anna and Corinne, Quintin's beloved socialite fiancée Flora Payne "Foufie" Whitney, TR's erstwhile friends Elihu Root and Henry Stimson, his pro-Preparedness ally Gen. Leonard Wood, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, Progressive Party moneyman George Walbridge Perkins, Bull Moose stalwarts Gifford and Amos Pinchot and Harold Ickes, old-line GOP bosses Billy Barnes and Boies Penrose, TR's roughhouse aide John W. "Mac" McGrath, Wilson White House aide Joe Tumulty, New York City Mayor John Purroy "The Boy Mayor" Mitchel, TR's deep sea fishing partner Russell J. Coles, his black valet James Otis, German propagandist George Sylvester Viereck, Columbia University President Nicholas Murray "Nicholas Miraculous" Butler, the TR-betrayed candidate Judge Samuel Seabury, Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels, accused San Francisco bomber Tom Mooney, TR's relentless critic Oswald Garrison Villard, newspapermen Fremont Older and Henry Stoddard, mystery writer Mary Roberts Rinehart, and pro-war filmmakers Thomas Dixon and Commodore J. Stuart Blackton.
And some surprise cameos by:
W. E. B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Georges Clemenceau, Felix Frankfurter, Bernard Baruch, Edith Wharton, Owen Wister, Calvin Coolidge, Edward Arlington Robinson, Herbert Hoover, Thomas Edison, Ida Tarbell, Edna Ferber, Heywood Broun, Carrie Chapman Catt, Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker, Madison Grant, Jane Addams, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Al Smith, George C. Marshall, Alfred Noyes, Hamlin Garland, H. Rider Haggard, Lillian Russell, Will Hays, the two George S. Pattons—and the two Eleanor Roosevelts.
********************************************************************************************** ISBN 978-1-4930-2887-0
Available from:
Rights Available: Film/TV, Live Performance Contact: Wilson Media
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