Lion in the White House

New York State Assemblyman Assistant Secretary of the Navy New York City Police Commissioner Governor of New York Vice President and at forty-two the youngest President ever-in his own words Theodore Roosevelt "rose like a rocket." He was also a cowboy a soldier a historian an intrepid explorer and an unsurpassed environmentalist-all in all perhaps the most accomplished Chief Executive in our nation's history. In Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt historian Aida Donald masterfully chronicles the life of this first modern president. TR's accomplishments in office were immense. As President Roosevelt redesigned the office of Chief Executive and the workings of the Republican Party to meet the challenges of the new industrial economy. Believing that the emerging aristocracy of wealth represented a genuine threat to democracy TR broke trusts to curb the rapacity of big business. He improved economic and social conditions for the average American. Roosevelt built the Panama Canal and engaged the country in world affairs putting a temporary end to American isolationism. And he won the Nobel Peace Prize-the only sitting president ever so honored. Throughout his public career TR fought valiantly to steer the GOP back to its noblest ideals as embodied by Abraham Lincoln. Alas his hopes for his party were quashed by the GOP's strong rightward turn in the years after he left office. But his vision for America lives on. In lapidary prose this concise biography recounts the courageous life of one of the greatest leaders our nation has ever known.>