Pulitzer Prize Biography Winner

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

by Edmund Morris

Summary

Edmund Morris follows Theodore Roosevelt from a sickly asthmatic boy into a rancher, soldier, and reformer, ending the moment he assumed the presidency in 1901. The narrative moves with novelistic energy through his Dakota cattle days, his Rough Rider charge in Cuba, and his rapid political ascent. It captures the restless force of personality that made Roosevelt an icon of American ambition.

Historical Context & Significance

This was the first volume of Morris's three part Roosevelt biography, and it won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.