Having read several books about TR, I have heard a lot about his writing. Other than reading some of his letters and quotes in books, I had never read any of his work but picked his autobiography up from a used bookstore. I was looking for the Naval War of 1812, but ended up with this instead. I was not disappointed. Some parts of the book definitely dragged and if your patience for legislative maneuvering prior to 1900 in the New York legislature is limited, you might want to skip to the back half of the book. But what comes through in the book are TR's passions: books, the outdoors, conserving the outdoors, and the Navy.
The first half of the book is essentially told chronologically. But when TR gets to his presidency, he tells the tale thematically. There are chapters on conservation, trust busting and other industrial issues, and two chapters on international affairs. Unfortunately, the book ends with his presidency and does not go into TR's world travels or his comeback bid in 1912. TR's dislike for his hand picked successor, President Taft, permeates the presidency chapters.
As with any autobiography, especially a presidential one, TR views himself as always right and his opponents as always wrong. His views on Taft are a good example of that. But that can hardly be viewed as a failing of the book, since that is a standard characteristic of these types of books.
If you want a first hand view of the man in the arena, what he tried to do and how he tried to lead his life, read the book.
