THEODORE ROOSEVELT

"All the great masterful races have been fighting races," T.R. said once, and this former weakling certainly meant to be included. Despite this bellicosity, and despite his Rough Riders, Roosevelt came from money, as does Louis Auchincloss, the author of this biography. Ira Claffey's passionate but cultivated voice is the perfect medium in which to join two men of refinement. The book's great failing is its attempt to include everything in so little space. One sentence takes us through T.R's nomination as vice president, his election to that post, and the assassination that slipped him into the White House. It's a long sentence, but not long enough. B.H.C. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB / MAR 03]