Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail

"IfIhadnotspentmyyearinNorthDakota,IwouldneverhavebecomePresidentoftheUnitedStates,"declaredTheodoreRoosevelt.ThefuturestatesmantookhisfirststepstowardthehighestofficeinthelandintheDakotaBadlandsofthe1880s,wherehebeganhistransformationfromaristocrattodemocrat.RooseveltlefthishomeintheEastasTheodore,buthereturnedas"Teddy,"aruggedoutdoorsmanandsoon-to-beherooftheRoughRiders.Recountedwithinfectiousenthusiasm,Roosevelt'stalesrangefromranchingontheopenplainstohuntinginthemountains.Hisreminiscencesconjureupthevanishedworldofthefrontier,withthrillingaccountsofchasingbighornsheepandhorsethieves,encounteringIndians,brandingcattle,andbroncobusting.Roosevelt'srecollectionshelpedelevatethecowboy'simagefromthatofanordinaryfarmlaborerintoafigureofnobilityandcourage.TheworksofFredericRemington,anothergreatmythmakeroftheOldWest,illustratethesememoirs.Sixty-fiveblack-and-whiteimagesbythisrenownedAmericanartistcomplementRoosevelt'sstoriesoffreedomandself-reliance.