Theodore Roosevelt (An Autobiography)

AOG Annotated Edition

By: Theodore Roosevelt

Narrated by: C.J. McAllister

The popularity of Teddy Roosevelt has only increased in the more than a century that passed since his term as president of the United States. This incredible first person account of his life and philosophies provides a remarkably revealing look at what made this timeless individual tick - and perhaps, into what made his impact on modern culture so profound and enduring.

©2018 James Barnes (P)2020 James Barnes

Well worth the listen/read

I knew little of Roosevelt or his presidency before reading his autobiography. I read along with a Kindle version as I listened to the audio book. Roosevelt was a man of many and many different kinds of accomplishments. He is unafraid to promote himself and yet much of what he claims would be hard to invalidate. Most interesting to me were his non-political thoughts. His sense of the need for young people to play and be active, to use imagination in the outdoors was refreshing and helpful in a day of chin-to-chest bone lock down on social media. I found the narrator's style took a while to get used to, but once there, I enjoyed it, although I think that performance pales somewhat before the amazing life being told.

Specifically for political science students

I could have done without the "study and discussion questions" put into the narration

An amazing life

Mr Roosevelt led an incredibly interesting life. Being President wasn’t even in the top 5 interesting things about him. Interesting set of philosophies and beliefs this man had.

An amazing man gives his version of his life

OK, so I really admire the man who cleaned up the NYPD and was an admirable Trustbuster but an audiobook with a runtime of over 23 hours? YES. I had not read an autobiography before, only the interpretive sort of third party research, so this was a real treat. No point in summarizing his life as he does a decent job of it and the narrator seems perfect for the task as he brings it to life with a pleasant voice and interpretation and really made the splitting up the read into manageable segments an easy task.

awesome book

incredible work 👍 highly recommended for people who love Teddy Roosevelt and his life. awesome book and great job

Annotated = essay questions for school kids

I could go on about how Roosevelt was full of himself, and how his tall tales about how strong and tough he is, as if he was your crazy uncle at Thanksgiving telling you how he used to lift 500 lbs with one hand...but that's not the point of this review. Most historical and political leaders who are arrogant enough to write their autobiographies go this route...Benny Franklin, I'm talking to you!

However, the story has some wisdom as well, and if anything, it paints a picture of life in his variable experiences: late 19th Century NYC, the Wild West during that same time, etc. He really lays it on thick with his stories of toughness. He grew up as a sickly kid in NYC in one of the richest families in America. It seems he lived his life doing rough-and-tumble things to proof to others, and probably himself, that he is more than just a spoiled rich kid. But, criticism aside, we get to see an the inner workings of NYC politics and lifestyle in general during a crucial period in America's history.

The narrator did a great job, but the annotated portion became a little annoying. We're going along with a chapter and then all of a sudden, he starts reading essay questions as if I were back at high school. I wish there were a way to skip that (or have them in their own separate labeled chapters so I could skip myself.

A great collection of ideas and moral values

President Roosevelt shows clearly his intentions, beliefs, and moral character in his autobiography. He highlights the value of good citizenship and all of our responsibilities.

I highly recommend this book to any member of society, American or not.

a very interesting man

I enjoyed listening to the life of Mr. Roosevelt. He had a very interesting life.

Love the book, not a fan of the narrator

The story is very interesting and informative. I was not a fan of the various voices the narrator tried to give different people throughout the book.

Absolutely love it

The concepts that Roosevelt discusses are very much the same concepts we are struggling with today. the Narration was superb