Theodore Roosevelt has a complicated legacy. To some, he was the quintessential American patriot and hero, a valiant soldier and hawkish leader. Others remember him as the Progressive cultural icon, the trust-buster who split from the Republican Party.

So who was the real Teddy Roosevelt?

Daniel Ruddy’s new biography cuts through the impenetrable tangle of misconceptions and contradictions that have grown up over the last century and obscured our view of a man who remains one of the most controversial and misunderstood presidents in U.S. history. Weighing Roosevelt's lifetime of actions against his sometimes-contradictory Progressive rhetoric, Ruddy paints a portrait of a man who led by undeniably conservative principles, but who obfuscated his own legacy with populist speeches. By focusing on Roosevelt's actions and his effect on American history, Ruddy clears the cobwebs and presents a real and convincing case for remembering Theodore Roosevelt as a great conservative leader.

From the Inside Flap:

Busting the "Progressive" Theodore Roosevelt Myth

Most Americans agree that Theodore Roosevelt--one of four presidents on Mount Rushmore--was one of America's greatest presidents. But all too often, Teddy Roosevelt is described as a Republican "progressive" little different from his political enemy Woodrow Wilson or his cousin Democrat Franklin Roosevelt (against whom Theodore Roosevelt Jr. campaigned).

Nothing could be further from the truth. By any reasonable definition, including his own, Theodore Roosevelt was a conservative--indeed, a conservative crusader out to slay the socialism represented by William Jennings Bryan and the liberalism of Woodrow Wilson.

In his new book Theodore the Great, Roosevelt scholar Daniel Ruddy debunks one historical myth after another, showing:

- Roosevelt's record of fiscal prudence, balanced budgets, and limited government (including his desire to rein in the unchecked power of the courts)

- Roosevelt's conservative environmentalism, which put the needs of a developing nation first

- Roosevelt as the exemplar of statesmanship: achieving peace through strength (which won Roosevelt the Nobel Peace Prize) and creating the "special relationship" with Great Britain

- Roosevelt's profound social conservatism that put strong families at the forefront of American life

- How Roosevelt despised Thomas Jefferson as the "liberal" founding father and venerated the conservatives Alexander Hamilton and George Washington

As Ruddy shows, Theodore Roosevelt was first, last, and always an American nationalist--the president who laid the necessary groundwork for the United States to become the superpower of the twentieth century.

Now, as America faces the shadow of national decline, nothing could be more appropriate and helpful than reacquainting ourselves with the true record of one of America's most outstanding leaders, reformers, and conservatives: Theodore the Great.

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