The Old Lion: A Novel of Theodore Roosevelt

by Jeff Shaara

Overview

In one of his most accomplished, compelling novels yet, acclaimed New York Times bestseller Jeff Shaara accomplishes what only the finest historical fiction can do - he brings to life one of the most consequential figures in U.S. history - Theodore Roosevelt - peeling back the many-layered history of the man, and the country he personified.

From the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, from the waning days of the rugged frontier of a young country to the emergence of a modern, industrial nation exerting its power on the world stage, Theodore Roosevelt embodied both the myth and reality of the country he loved and led.

From his upbringing in the rarefied air of New York society of the late 19th century to his time in rough-and-tumble world of the Badlands in the Dakotas, from his rise from political obscurity to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, from national hero as the leader of the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War to his accidental rise to the Presidency itself, Roosevelt embodied the complex, often contradictory, image of America itself.

In gripping prose, Shaara's The Old Lion tells the story of the man who both defined and created the modern United States.

“Shaara deftly weaves a growing intensity that explodes on the pages.” – Bookreporter.com on To Wake the Giant.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250279958
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/16/2023
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	11,376
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

JEFF SHAARA is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of seventeen novels, including Rise to Rebellion and The Rising Tide, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure - two novels that complete his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Hometown:

Kalispell, Montana

Date of Birth:

February 21, 1952

Place of Birth:

New Brunswick, New Jersey

Education:

B.S. in Criminology, Florida State University, 1974

Website:

http://www.jeffshaara.com/

Editorial Reviews

03/06/2023

Shaara (The Eagle’s Claw) delivers a ponderous narrative of Theodore Roosevelt. In December 1918, a 60-year-old Roosevelt is near the end of his life, and with his decline exacerbated by news that his son Quentin perished in WWI, he agrees to a final set of interviews with his biographer, Hermann Hagedorn. Shaara then flashes back to 1868 New York City, as the nine-year-old “Teedie” struggles with asthma. His father implores him to toughen up, and he goes on to become an accomplished boxer, Harvard graduate magna cum laude, author of an acclaimed book on the War of 1812, New York City police commissioner, Spanish-American war hero, and politician. He deals with personal tragedies along the way, most notably the deaths on the same day in 1884 of his mother and his first wife, the former by a severe case of typhoid fever and the latter of complications after delivering their child, causing Roosevelt to feel as if his life has become a “cruel nightmare.” Shaara occasionally returns to the bedside dialogues with Hagedorn, but these scenes often feel as strained as his stricken subject, whose responses to the biographer’s questions are prefaced by stock reactions like “ill-disguised annoyance” and “a long, painful breath.” Despite the richness of the source material, this is a bit of a slog. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"A colorful portrait of a colorful man....Shaara achieves both a vividly realized landscape and a full-bodied portrait of his subject. " —Booklist

"A glowing tribute to a Rushmore-worthy president. The Old Lion himself would have called it 'dee-lightful!'" —Kirkus

"Vividly imagined…The Old Lion entertains.” —Newsday

From the Publisher

2023-02-23
Historical novelist Shaara explores the enormously consequential life of Theodore Roosevelt through the man's own point of view.

Solid biographies of Roosevelt already exist, of course, but fiction is the only vehicle for suggesting what his thoughts might have been. This novel races through his career, seemingly trying not to miss a single adventure, battle, or victory, even if only in passing. TR writes the well-received The Naval War of 1812 and later becomes assistant secretary of the Navy. No, wait—he’s governor of New York, fighting corruption. But that was yesterday, and today he’s leading his men up San Juan Hill. Next to him, a fellow Rough Rider says “There’s not a Spanish bullet made that can kill me” just before being shot in the mouth. In a flash, it would seem, Roosevelt is the Republican candidate for vice president. Pages later, President McKinley is shot and lingers near death. Suddenly TR realizes, “Good Godfrey. I'll be the president of the United States.” Contemporary writer and biographer Hermann Hagedorn interviews him from time to time and asks questions about his battles and accomplishments that might not otherwise fit in with the storyline. Oh yes, I did help settle the coal strike…but don’t ask me about that damn Medal of Honor. And the Panama Canal triumph must be squeezed in somehow. The author deeply admires his subject, as many people do. But Shaara’s tone occasionally drifts toward hagiography. Deep in the Brazilian jungle, near the river still called Rio Roosevelt, TR and his son Kermit suffer “open sores and boils” as they accompany a scientific expedition, and the locals love him for it: “Roosevelt’s illness and agony could not sway their beliefs that here, before them, stood a king.” One novel cannot completely deal with all that Roosevelt packed into the six decades of life he predicts for himself. “I know you, Teddy,” says his wife, Edith. “You have mountains to climb, and no one can stop you.” Indeed, nothing stops him but his heart.

A glowing tribute to a Rushmore-worthy president. The Old Lion himself would have called it “dee-lightful!

Kirkus Reviews