FORGING A PRESIDENT

FORGING A PRESIDENT
HOW THE WILD WEST CREATED TEDDY ROOSEVELT
by
William Elliott Hazelgrove
 
 
ABOUT THE BOOK
"There are few sensations I prefer to that of galloping over these rolling limitless prairies, with rifle in hand, or winding my way among the barren, fantastic and grimly picturesque deserts of the so-called Bad Lands." —Theodore Roosevelt

He was born a city boy in Manhattan; but it wasn't until he lived as a cattle rancher and deputy sheriff in the wild country of the Dakota Territory that Theodore Roosevelt became the man who would be president. "I have always said I would not have been president had it not been for my experience in North Dakota," Roosevelt later wrote. It was in the "grim fairyland" of the Bad Lands that Roosevelt became acquainted with the ways of cowboys, Native Americans, trappers, thieves, and wild creatures--and it was there that his spirit was forged and tested.

In Forging a President, author William Hazelgrove uses Roosevelt's own reflections to immerse readers in the formative seasons that America's twenty-sixth president spent in "the broken country" of the Wild West.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Forging A President How the Wild West Created Teddy Roosevelt NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER! Teddy Roosevelts mother and wife died on the same day in 1883. He then left for the Dakota territory to become the man who would become President.

William Hazelgrove is the bestselling author of ten novels, Ripples, Tobacco Sticks Mica Highways Rocket Man, The Pitcher,Real Santa, Jack Pine, forthcoming Pitcher 2 and 3. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly, Book of the Month Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards Junior Library Guild Selections and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway’s birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today and other publications and has been featured on NPR All Things Considered. The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today have all covered his books with features. An ebook Jackpine is due out in July with his latest novel Real Santa is due out Sept 1 2014. He runs a cultural blog, The View From Hemingway’s Attic. He lives in Chicago.  


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 MY THOUGHTS
 Circumstances can change a person for the good or the bad.  This is what happened to Teddy Roosevelt.  After the deaths of both his wife and mothers on the same day, Teddy Roosevelt set off for the Dakota Territory even though he was a sick young man, devastated by the deaths of his loved ones.   This  journey is what changed this sick man into one of the world's greatest men.  He spent three years there.  He got there right before 1890. That is when the West was officially declared closed. After those three years he returned and was healthy, strong and strong willed, with determination that no one could stop. He went in search of peace, strength and the ability to go one and that he found and much more.
The author instills in the reader a picture of Teddy Roosevelt arriving out West, a down and out man and as time went on he grew strong.  The details of the scenery and the characters puts in the reader's mind exactly how it was, as though you are there with Mr. Roosevelt as he traveled the Badlands.   He had to gain strength to survive those circumstances.  This man changed completely from a New York boy, knowing only city life to being in the Dakota Territory wilds as a rancher and also as a deputy.  Quite a change!  He got to know entirely different kinds of people anywhere from Indians, cowboys, thieves, good people and even the wild animals. This wasn't a place for a sick, down and out man but when he spent three years in the Badlands, he was a changed man. Teddy Roosevelt survived and went on the become our 26th President.  He was a powerful man. It took strength and will power to overcome the heart break he endured.    He overcame and became one of the strongest men to survive the West.  This is what made Teddy Roosevelt, the President of the United States.


I received a copy of this book from the author and voluntarily decided to review it.

I would give this book 5 STARS. 

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