MEDORA, North Dakota — Standing this summer in the Badlands overlooking the site where the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is under construction, anyone curious about the 26th president can be assured that this place will indeed capture the spirit and essence of the man.
I was left with the same sense after reading Bret Baier’s new book, *To Rescue the American Spirit: Teddy Roosevelt and the Birth of a Superpower*. It’s a nonstop page-turner, written with great research and vivid detail. Roosevelt bursts off the pages at every turn.
Mr. Baier uncovers nuggets of Roosevelt’s life that have been lost to history—details that shaped and formed a once-sickly child into a symbol of grit and American exceptionalism. His mark on our country remains evident today.
The book is nothing short of enthralling, delivered in a way that makes it hard to put down. Baier chronicles Roosevelt’s life—from his triumph over tragic events that left him searching for purpose in the vast and wild American West, to the man he became in battle, conservation, and politics. These different facets of his life still profoundly affect our country.
Baier details Roosevelt’s early political career in the New York Legislature, where he championed efforts to rid the state’s politics of corruption. He follows Roosevelt’s nightly city walks as New York City Police Commissioner and reveals his stubborn efforts to reform government as New York governor—efforts that earned him powerful enemies.
It becomes clear why Roosevelt has endured in our national psyche. His road to the White House came through tragedy; as vice president, he assumed the presidency after William McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo, New York.
We see Roosevelt take all of his experiences to the Oval Office, leading in a way no other president had before him. His spirit prevails not just page after page but word after word as the reader rediscovers his passion for the American land—as a conservationist and hunter fascinated by the study of insects and animals throughout his life.
Roosevelt’s buoyancy, lust for life, and patriotism combine to make *To Rescue the American Spirit* a rigorous and rewarding read, thanks to Mr. Baier’s writing and keen attention to detail.
— Creators.com
https://www.nysun.com/article/theodore-roosevelt-jumps-out-of-the-pages-in-bret-baiers-newest-book