The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America

by: Douglas Brinkley

Published by: HarperCollins

Reviewed by Patty Inglish

The Wilderness Warrior contains an incredible amount of history for a single volume, surpassing that of high school curricula, Wikipedia pages, and most college classes, except for the most advanced.

Author Douglas Brinkley brings to life not only U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, but Teddy the child, the youth, and the young adult – all conservationists. Already larger than life, Roosevelt gains added depth in a fully three-dimensional personality in this book. This is the Teddy Roosevelt that most of us never knew, but wish we had, and he exceeds cowboy or Rough Rider personas portrayed in films.

This book is detailed yet fresh, providing biography in order to focus on Roosevelt’s passion and drive toward U.S. conservation, starting in childhood. The son of a founder of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, Teddy had his own small museum by age 10, collecting diverse specimens and unusual pets as well as performing taxidermy. At age 9, he had already written a treatise on insects and showed deep appreciation for wildlife and the local environment.

Brinkley provides a greater amount of detail and new perspective than other TR biographies. He shows Teddy wrote about the American environment, but did not write or speak about it without physically working in it extensively throughout his lifespan. Had he not become a U.S. President, he would likely have developed into a globally-respected environmentalist, and his likeness would still be on Mount Rushmore.

Wilderness Warrior, even at 800+ pages, is engaging, fast-paced, and full of adventure. It includes intriguing photos, maps, drawings, and entertaining political cartoons, one featuring “Teddy in Timberland” – perhaps a naturalist parody of the era’s comic, “Little Nemo in Slumberland.” Stories about pioneering for more open spaces for zoo animals are as interesting as those of Native Americans, wilderness ranches, and political skirmishes up and down the government ladder, many influenced by Teddy’s naturalist agenda. Further, some of his naturalist theories are accepted by science today.

Anyone interested in the conservationist Teddy Roosevelt and the history of the American National Park System and wildlife in politics will enjoy Wilderness Warrior.

Armchair Interviews says: A 5-star historical biography.