I started reading an advance copy of Colonel Roosevelt and am enjoying Edmund Morris' descriptions of Roosevelt's time in Europe, where he was feted by virtually every head of state, including Kaiser Wilhelm, who invited him to see German maneuvers, which apparently left Roosevelt deeply troubled about the state of military affairs in Europe, as Germany was all too obviously the best organized force on the continent. Seems the Kaiser wanted Roosevelt to take this impression home with him, especially after the run-ins they had over Venezuela while he was President.
It's my understanding that TR respected the Kaiser. I'll loook in some of my WWI books to refresh my memory on how they viewed one another. I recall they met in 1910.
ReplyDeleteI'm twitching in anticipation of the book. Does the book take TR through his death?
Well worth looking forward to, bob. I'm a little over 1/3 of my way through the book and his coverage of the 1910 and 1912 elections is first rate. He captured Teddy in all his vacillations and vainglory as he struggles with his ebbing influence on the Republican Party. Interesting that this signaled the time, progressivism came to be adopted by the Democratic Party, although it is really hard to view Woodrow Wilson as a "progressive" in retrospect, especially given his racism. The book does carry Teddy through to the end.
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