Theodore Roosevelt in the Field, Michael R. Canfield

Theodore Roosevelt is my favorite president and is one of my favorite historical figures.  He as a man of action and adventure.  When one sees pictures of Roosevelt he is invariably involved in some sort of action such as riding a horse, on safari, or standing on the edge of a cliff.  He was a true renaissance man, an intellectual and author of numerous books, a naturalist, rancher, soldier, statesman, conservationist and sporting man.   It is in the field that Roosevelt shined and where his passion for the “strenuous life”, and his drive for scientific discovery and conquest were most apparent. 

Drawing on Roosevelt’s field notebooks, diaries and letters, Canfield gives life to the many adventures that Roosevelt embarked upon.  Theodore Roosevelt in the Field covers from his early childhood observations of ants to his notes on ornithology as a teenager.  Cranfield shows how Roosevelt’s quest for knowledge and desire to live a vigorous life took him to the field in the Badlands where he sought the rugged freedom of life on the ranch and adventure in the wilderness.  He then takes us to Africa and South America where we consider Roosevelt’s adventures and writings after his presidency.  Cranfield covers the balance between Roosevelt as a naturalist and conservationist and his desire for sport such as hunting and fishing.  That balance between the naturalist/conservationist and hunter seem a paradox for many as his machismo ruggedness seemed oddly juxtaposed to his vivid intellectual appreciation for art and literature to others.  This in my opinion is what made him a true renaissance man and one of the most well rounded and balanced individuals I have studied. 

 I have read many books about Theodore Roosevelt, and Roosevelt in the Field is one of the best attempts to cover the whole story of a very interesting and curious figure that is part of our American Heritage.