Colonel Roosevelt Signed Edition by Edmund Morris

A review by Claude R. Marx

Theodore Roosevelt -- one of the few presidents to captivate people almost a century after his death -- embodied the phrase "collection of contradictions." He was, for example, cerebral and athletic, as well as both radical and conservative. Edmund Morris has spent much of his professional career trying to figure out and explain this paradoxical president.

Colonel Roosevelt, the third part of his three-volume biography of Roosevelt, is a worthy and extremely engaging culmination of Mr. Morris' work. It focuses on TR's post-presidential years, which were highlighted by an ill-fated presidential campaign and a legendary journey down the Amazon River. As in the other volumes, the tone is respectful, but not fawning.

However, Mr. Morris is a better verbal portrait painter and observer of human relations than a political analyst. The book sings when he puts a human face on political interactions, such as his description of Roosevelt's frustration with his...

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