A Bully Father: Theodore Roosevelt's Letters to His Children
McCullough's introduction and Kerr's family chronicle set the stage for this wonderful collection of letters-an instant bestseller in 1919-that reveals how seriously yet lightheartedly Theodore Roosevelt took his role as father of six lively children. Written between 1898 and 1911, the letters begin with a letter to the "Blessed Bunnies" as he's about to embark on a military expedition to Cuba and end with a letter complaining about a hat the children "forced" him to buy. In between: letters to the children on such matters as the construction of the Panama Canal, mental telepathy, hunting trips, family pets, Charles Dickens ("an illnatured, selfish cad and boor, who had no understanding of what the word gentleman meant") and one hilarious letter about the president grappling with a Japanese wrestler in the White House. These examples are not exactly typical, however, for each letter is delightfully different, addressed not so much to a child as to a beloved individual regarded as an equal. The volume includes 40 photos of the family at play. Kerr co-edited The Romantic Egoists.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.