Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Book Report/Simply "Father", 2007

Simply "Father"
Life With Theodore Roosevelt As Seen Through The Eyes Of His Children
By Toby Selda

I first read about Theodore Roosevelt a few years ago, in an unabridged audio of Letters From A Bully Father. I quickly went on to read more and more books about him. I joined the Theodore Roosevelt Association. I think him one of the most remarkable men who has ever lived. He accomplished more in his sixty years than others in a hundred. There are a lot of books out there if you want to read about this amazing man, and more on the horizon with Doris Kearns Goodwin presently working on one. I read about this little book in the TRA newsletter. It can only be bought through the National Parks Service at this time.

In a "note to our readers," the author says:

To develop a plausible story line, fictional text has been created for the characters. This is a work of historical fiction which uses the collective voice of the Roosevelt children to tell the story of their life with Theodore Roosevelt. The book is meant to have the look of a family album from the 1900s.

It does indeed have this look. There are beautiful family photos, reproductions of letters, and pictures of the glorious home on Long Island, New York, called Sagamore Hill.

On the back of the book is a photo of TR reading, with words from Autobiography:

I think there ought to be children's books. I think that the child will like grown-up books also, and I do not believe a child's book is really good unless grown-ups get something out of it.

Well, I got a lot out of this one. Even having read quite a bit about Theodore Roosevelt, I still learned more. In fact, I am quite sure that no one can ever learn all there is to know about this man. If you are already a fan, you'll love this book, and if you don't know much about him, here is a wonderful way to begin.

Home, wife, and children, they are what really count in life.
Theodore Roosevelt

5 comments:

  1. I love the cover picture. I really like his words and I know next to nothing about him. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  2. Thanks, Kay, for commenting. I can recommend some titles if you'd like to read more about TR. Honestly, his life reads like a great novel. It's hard to imagine how very fully he lived every single day, month, year. It's said that both he and his wife read a book a day. :<)

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  3. That's what it is then. They were well read. I think I'll take a pass right now, Nan, on the titles. Just have too many things going. But I did enjoy your review.

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  4. This sounds so interesting. We all know Teddy Roosevelt through school and history classes but I really know very little about him as a man. I love the quote! He was wise. My own father could have said that quote as that is all that mattered to him in life.

    Is the book you told me about, Time and Again, the same story as the film Somewhere in Time? I have never seen this movie all the way through. I missed it on TV and only saw the end.

    ~~ Heidi ~~

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  5. Heidi, Time and Again is not the same as Somewhere in Time. Nor is it the same as the Malcolm McDowell movie, Time After Time. It sure is confusing with all those "times" and I often have trouble keeping the titles straight. The book is by Jack Finney. He is the same author who wrote Invasion of the Body Snatchers, though the Time book is not like that! It has a great deal about life in both time periods and there is a romance. The book has old photographs which make the reader think it is completely real. I've read it several times and talking about it makes me want to read it again. I just love it. Slow and detailed which I enjoy.

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