Review 65: Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life (Kathleen Dalton)

For my money, the best one volume work on TR. One wonders if the choice of subject is the most important task of biographers. Choosing TR is always a safe bet. This work is even-handed. I found the section on TR's college years insightful; Dalton reveals a side of TR in his college years that doesn't shine through in Morris' more detailed work. The most important chapter, and the chapter I believe is most crucial in understanding TR, is near the middle of the book: "Saving the National Soul." This chapter is a survey of TR's moral vision for America, and it details this theme better than any source I've found so far.