Theodore Roosevelt on Books and Reading

President Theodore Roosevelt had a passion for reading books, and he did not keep this passion to himself. He often wrote about his experiences as a reader and collector of books. He wrote scholarly essays about literature and literary history. He often wrote book reviews for such publications as The Atlantic Monthly, The Bookman, The Outlook, and The New York Times Review of Books. Roosevelts writings about books are worth reading for their own sake, for in these pieces he provided critical insights into influential books. His writings about books, however, are also important because they show how Roosevelt responded to the books that he read. Roosevelts reading influenced his thinking on the many topics that interested him, so these writings provide researchers with a better understanding of the role that books played in the formation of his ideas, attitudes, and political positions. Theodore Roosevelt on Books and Reading brings together for the first time Roosevelts writings about his experiences as a reader, his scholarly essays about literature and literary history, and his exuberant reviews of some of the books that he especially liked. A sister volume to Mark I. Wests Theodore Roosevelt and His Library at Sagamore Hill, this new volume features Roosevelts own responses to many of the books in his personal library. All of the selections in this volume reflect Roosevelts passion for reading. These selections will resonate with anyone who shares Roosevelts love of books.