The Old Lion

Jeff Shaara, New York Times bestselling author of seventeen novels as well as a four-time winner of the American Library Association's William Boyd Young Award for excellence in military fiction, returns with one of his finest works yet, The Old Lion: A Novel of Theodore Roosevelt.

Shaara traces the life of one of the most consequential figures in the U.S. and the world at large, from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. From the waning days of the rough and tumble frontier of a young country to the forging of the modern country and world power, Roosevelt's journey is meticulously explored.

Roosevelt went from being a sickly child with debilitating asthma to living a vigorous life, enthusiastically embraced. From his upbringing in New York society of the late 19th century to his time as a cattle rancher in the badlands of the Dakotas, his story is one of remarkable transformation.

His political rise is remarkable, ascending from obscurity to being a New York City policeman, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and on to leading the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. His path continued as Governor of New York before his unexpected rise to the Presidency.

Through his reform of the Civil Service, creation of the National Park System, and his assertion of "Big Stick" diplomacy, Roosevelt not only embodied the adventurous image of the rough, unpolished American, but he also shaped the very foundations of the modern country and world.