Grace for President (review)

Marrin introduces Theodore Roosevelt as "a man of outsize strengths and weaknesses," and, as this densely written biography demonstrates, the president's personal contradictions mirror the state of the country as it emerged into a fully modern nation. While Marrin's overall assessment of Roosevelt is one of approbation, even admiration, he draws readers' attention to the many brash contrasts in Roosevelt's career: sickly boy and activity-obsessed adult; Nobel Peace Prize-winner and war hawk; political reformer and Panama Canal schemer; rough-and-tumble soldier in a Brooks Brothers uniform. True to the book's subtitle, Marrin spends considerable time establishing historical context, which lends a dry touch to the biography of a very lively man, but deeper researchers will appreciate his thoroughness. Those who navigate the partly chronological, partly topical organization from start to finish will also appreciate the large array of period photographs and witty political cartoons, chapter notes, bibliography, and index. And they'll certainly be ready to shine when the Progressives unit in U.S. History rolls around.