Roosevelt, Naturally

This essay examines the outpouring of works on Theodore Roosevelt the conservationist and hunter since the publication of Douglas Brinkley’s The Wilderness Warrior in 2009. It provides brief reviews of several books, including children’s books, and an episode of a television documentary series. It also looks at two museum exhibitions and a play that deal with Roosevelt and conservation. The essay emphasizes the centrality that many of the works give to the connection between Roosevelt’s environmental ethos and his hunting. Under review are Douglas Brinkley, The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America; R.L. Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt: Hunter-Conservationist; Michael R. Canfield, Theodore Roosevelt in the Field; Darrin Lunde, The Naturalist: Theodore Roosevelt, a Lifetime of Exploration, and the Triumph of American Natural History; Dan Aadland, In Trace of TR: A Montana Hunter’s Journey; Willie Robertson and William Doyle, “Master Hunter in the White House,” in American Hunter: How Legendary Hunters Shaped America; Frank Murphy, Take a Hike, Teddy Roosevelt!; Barb Rosenstock, The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and our National Parks; Episode Two of Ken Burns, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea; the Roosevelt Memorial Hall in the American Museum of Natural History, New York; Ben Clawson’s play King of the Mountains; a restored lion, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C