Theodore Rex

By: Edmund Morris

Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz

Length: 25 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A shining portrait of a presciently modern political genius maneuvering in a gilded age of wealth, optimism, excess and American global ascension.”—San Francisco Chronicle

WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY • “[Theodore Rex] is one of the great histories of the American presidency, worthy of being on a shelf alongside Henry Adams’s volumes on Jefferson and Madison.”—Times Literary Supplement

Theodore Rex is the story—never fully told before—of Theodore Roosevelt’s two world-changing terms as President of the United States. A hundred years before the catastrophe of September 11, 2001, “TR” succeeded to power in the aftermath of an act of terrorism. Youngest of all our chief executives, he rallied a stricken nation with his superhuman energy, charm, and political skills. He proceeded to combat the problems of race and labor relations and trust control while making the Panama Canal possible and winning the Nobel Peace Prize. But his most historic achievement remains his creation of a national conservation policy, and his monument millions of acres of protected parks and forest.

Theodore Rex ends with TR leaving office, still only fifty years old, his future reputation secure as one of our greatest presidents.

©2001 Edmund Morris (P)2002 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Impeccably researched and beautifully composed, a dazzling portrait of the man....A book that is every bit as complex, engaging, and invigorating as the vibrant president it depicts." (Publishers Weekly)

Great book with minor glitches

Like many reviewers have said, there is regular repetition of the audio which does get annoying at times. However it does not take away from the excellence of the writing and narration. The narration is bit more dry than Deakins' in the first book, but still clear and well done. Don't go for the abridged.

New narration needed

After listening to Mark Deakins’ excellent performance on The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Jonathan Marosz’s reading here on Theodore Rex is a shock to the system. I’m not sure I’ll be able to tolerate 25 hours of this. Given the universal criticism, why has this book not been re-recorded with a different narrator?

Poor performance

If you're going through the audiobook trilogy like me you will be disappointed to hear the fantastic narrator of the first book does not read this book. instead you get a narrator who attempts no different accents, sounds like he is asking a question at the end of each sentence, and sounds wrong for a host of other reasons I can't quite put a finger on. But the trilogy is too highly regarded to abandon simply because of the narrator, so I tried my best to ignore his delivery, and instead focus on the content. The good news is that the old narrator is back for book three.

The best biography I have ever read/listened to

Teddy Roosevelt is one of the most interesting characters in American history and Edmund Morris captures that character perfectly. I loved every minute of this book.

Great book, horrible audio

Wonderful book. Audio editing is horrible, someone needs to actually listen to this book and reedit.

Great book! One technical issue

This was very informative and interesting. I’m glad I made the purchase.
However, I did find that this recording has a technical issue. Throughout the recording there are small recorded loops that repeat themselves. It isn’t too often but is distracting and annoying when it occurs.

9/10 Fantastic book but subpar production of the reading

Edmund Morris wrote a second fantastic book about Roosevelt! This book is more cluttered with politics and procedure than the first but this did encompass his entire presidency. That’s not to say that is a bad thing. To the casual listener you’ll likely zone out but to those who are passionate about history and enjoy the detail this book is a 10/10. The only issue with this book is the performance of the reading. None of the chapters align with the tracks and the reading will repeat itself every so often for about a sentence or two.

Delighted to listen

Another great book in the series. Very informative however I found the performance to be very monotone and dry. It wasn’t until the later chapters that the narrator seem to realize this.

beautifully read, beautifully written

beautifully read, beautifully written , a magnificent tale of a powerful and energetic man. highly recommend!

Great bio — many tech glitches

The great book by Edmund Morris and solid, if somewhat flat reading, are marred by frequent editing errors. About 100 times throughout the book, a passage repeats, like a record skipping.

I hope the Audible team takes notice and fixes this glaring stain on a great book.