mornings on horseback by david mccullough

Politicians are accused of affairs and the like. As a young man Theodore was friends with several young ladies. McCullough mentions that Theodore's uncle had a mistress, which was not known by his family at the time. Different kinds of alcoholic beverages are mentioned. Theodore's father strongly discouraged an excess of drink, but Theodore's brother, Elliott, eventually fell into alcoholism. During his stay in the West he breaks several bones one of the 'Wild West' characters, the Marquis de Mores, fought and won several duels. Theodore was always fond of hunting, and of dissecting and observing his kills, and his excursions are sometimes given in detail. His mother, Mittie, was a Southerner and she often told her children stories about the Old South and about the exploits of her family several of her siblings were killed during the Civil War. Theodore suffered from acute asthma as a child and it is described as a feeling like strangling. Theodore taught Sunday School for awhile during his Harvard years. As a child Theodore thought that a fox was God as an adult he writes that 'if he believed in heaven.' Evolution seems to have been accepted by the Roosevelt family. Theodore and most of his family had very high standards, and wrongdoing is not condoned in any.

He gave his children a good moral code to follow and encouraged them to have strong characters.

Theodore's father was a philanthropist and ran several good-will organizations in New York. Our twenty-sixth president is mainly known for shouting 'Bully!' and charging up San Juan Hill, but he was much deeper than that, and McCullough set forth in this biography of Roosevelt's early life to show what shaped the character of one of America's greatest presidents. While doing research for his award-winning history of the building of the Panama Canal, 'The Path Between the Seas,' David McCullough became interested in Theodore Roosevelt. Mornings on Horseback by David McCulloughĪ fascinating look at what shaped the man Theodore Roosevelt.

Mornings on horseback by david mccullough