Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt, by Aida D. Donald

Aida D. Donald's biography of the 26th American president of the United States is one of several projects to come out recently indicating a resurgence in the popularity and relevance of the man who Donald characterizes as the first modern president. Characteristics of modernity that Donald focuses upon include Roosevelt's positioning of the United States as a world super power rather than the fledgling nation started by intellectuals fracturing off from European centrality and control.

The biography looks to the frailties of Roosevelt's early life in order to explicate the impetus behind his self-created image of a robust man who lived and lead with gusto in his later life. "Roosevelt aimed to restore the old virtues and programs of the earliest Republicans. He staked out his philosophy of government, and his political tactics were aggressive and...
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