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Mornings On Horseback (Abridged): The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life, and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt Audiobook
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(4.00) - 7,066 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The National Book Award–winning biography that tells the story of how young Teddy Roosevelt transformed himself from a sickly boy into the vigorous man who would become a war hero and ultimately president of the United States, told by master historian David McCullough.
Mornings on Horseback is the brilliant biography of the young Theodore Roosevelt. Hailed as “a masterpiece” (John A. Gable, Newsday), it is the winner of the Los Angeles Times 1981 Book Prize for Biography and the National Book Award for Biography. Written by David McCullough, the author of Truman, this is the story of a remarkable little boy, seriously handicapped by recurrent and almost fatal asthma attacks, and his struggle to manhood: an amazing metamorphosis seen in the context of the very uncommon household in which he was raised.
The father is the first Theodore Roosevelt, a figure of unbounded energy, enormously attractive and selfless, a god in the eyes of his small, frail namesake. The mother, Mittie Bulloch Roosevelt, is a Southerner and a celebrated beauty, but also considerably more, which the book makes clear as never before. There are sisters Anna and Corinne, brother Elliott (who becomes the father of Eleanor Roosevelt), and the lovely, tragic Alice Lee, TR’s first love. All are brought to life to make “a beautifully told story, filled with fresh detail” (The New York Times Book Review).
A book to be read on many levels, it is at once an enthralling story, a brilliant social history and a work of important scholarship which does away with several old myths and breaks entirely new ground. It is a book about life intensely lived, about family love and loyalty, about grief and courage, about “blessed” mornings on horseback beneath the wide blue skies of the Badlands.
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"This was definitely a good book but a lot of it failed to really engage me. Roosevelt's life is certainly very interesting, and a focus on his childhood and early adulthood really provides an interesting perspective on the facts that most people knew already but around which they had little personal historical context. For a reader like me, however, who is not a history buff and knows little even about Roosevelt's presidency, a more in-depth review might have been more interesting. Overall, however, I enjoyed this book and it was a nice change of pace to what I'm used to."
— Joe (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“A fine account of Roosevelt's rise to manhood, well written and, like its subject, full of irrepressible vitality.”
— Denver Post -
“This is a marvelous chronicle of manners and morals, love and duty, and as captivating as anything you will find between book covers in a long while.”
— Detroit News -
“We have no better social historian.”
— New York Times
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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Winner of the 1982 National Book Award for Biography
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Winner of the 1981 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography
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A 1982 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Biography/Autobiography
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A 2005 Audie Award Finalist
Mornings On Horseback Listener Reviews
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" I loved to learn about Roosevelt's family life. I enjoyed the history of Theodore's Mother, Father, and Aunts and Uncles more than I enjoyed the sections about his own life. This book gives many great prospectives about this great man that will be hard to find in other bios, such as Theodore Rex. He is a product of his family life. "
— kato, 1/18/2014 -
" 1st book read about T.R. by one of the best authors of history. "
— Bruce, 1/12/2014 -
" I enjoyed this book on TR, by David McCullough, although I don't think it was as good as the other two I read by him, John Adams and Truman. I think far too much time was spent on Roosevelt's early battles with asthma. It was interesting reading about it, but just too much time and detail was devoted to it. I would have liked it better if that had been cut shorter and some time was spent on Roosevelt's later political life, rather than ending it basically with his run for Mayor of NYC. All in all, though, it was a good read, especially if you are into political history. "
— Robert, 1/11/2014 -
" An intimate biography of Teddie Roosevelt's early life as a sickly child growing up in a privileged family. McCullough shows how Roosevelt's close family, his travels, and intense grief all shaped this future president. "
— Kathy, 1/9/2014 -
" This book humanizes Teddy Roosevelt by examining his fascinating childhood, family, and education. A gorgeous biography in that sense. For people who are more interested in the human character development than in the 19th century political history, the politics chapters are obvious and skippable I suppose. "
— Marin, 12/28/2013 -
" Wish it would have gone longer and covered his presidency "
— Star, 12/28/2013 -
" A really good look at T. Roosevelt and his younger years. I actually started to read this because I was interested in his involvement in housing conditions of the poor in New York, and this book really broadened my view of the former president. "
— Carly, 12/28/2013 -
" Who does not love TR? Public image aside this is an intensely personal look at the man behind the public stereotype that has become the norm. Flawed human, yes, but that makes the read all the more compelling. "
— Gloria, 12/19/2013 -
" I only wish this one went on for more years of TR's life !!! McCullough is the man !!! "
— Graham, 12/8/2013 -
" Not as great as I had hoped, but still worth the time. "
— Mattb, 11/30/2013 -
" McCullough is my favorite nonfiction author. He made me curious to learn more about Teddy Roosevelt (the book stops before Roosevelt becomes president). I also grew to appreciate the many great qualities of Teddy Roosevelt and his family, especially their honesty and sense of family. "
— Shenek, 11/1/2013 -
" This is a wonderful book, about Teddy Roosevelt before he became president. His years in Oyster Bay..was sorry when I finished it. "
— Bev, 10/27/2013 -
" MCcoulgh did a great job on a fascinating Individual. "
— Joel, 10/21/2013 -
" Enjoyed reading the first part of the book about his family and their lives. When it got into politics it was a bit boring. "
— Doris, 10/11/2013 -
" A tribute to the family - especially the father that shaped this very influential President of the United States. Roosevelt is a classic example of how our weaknesses become our strengths as he overcame his physical limitations. "
— Karen, 7/1/2013 -
" Made me a fan of TR and McCullough -- with one book. That's an accomplishment. I particularly liked the insight it provides on TR and early 20th C US, living in the shadow of decisions people made during the Civil War. Probably a connection we appreciate too little. "
— Kyra, 6/27/2013 -
" Great book. Fantastic author. I love biographies, and historical fictional biographies also. "
— Jenalyn, 12/1/2012 -
" Took a while to get into, but I did enjoy it. I'm no history buff, so it was fun for me towards the end to recognize some of the other historical characters mentioned. Good learning experience as I know next to nothing about history. "
— Brittney, 10/16/2012 -
" This book is marvelous, it's stuck with me for years. "
— Lumindanu, 6/18/2012 -
" The subtitle of this book describes it well - definitely worth the read. "
— Lotte, 6/10/2012 -
" McCullough is a genius writer who makes historical figures vividly human for the reader. "
— Anne, 4/19/2012 -
" One of my favorite books. Teddy Roosevelt was an amazing force of nature. The author takes you into his achievments and joy as well as his heartbreak and pain. This book gave me a great appreciation of President Theodore Roosevelt. "
— Patricia, 10/7/2011 -
" The book went into way too much detail about the minutiae of everyday daily life. I was looking for more stories of what made Teddy Roosevelt the outlandish and larger than life person he was. "
— Charlie, 6/27/2011 -
" Just rereading this after loaning it to a young man facing some of the difficulties the young TR faced. It touched me as much almost 15 years ago. We need a few more Teddy Roosevelts in 21st century America. "
— Barbra, 6/3/2011 -
" Great read of a fascinating man and time. "
— Sue, 6/1/2011 -
" A wonderful book about my favorite President :) "
— Ginny, 5/22/2011 -
" Wonderful insight to the times and history of the era and a unique family. "
— Lee, 5/19/2011 -
" Actually I would give the first half of the book 5 stars. I didn't finish it only because it began to revolve around hunting and it lost its appeal to me. But he was truly a fascinating man, and I fell completely in love with his father. "
— Julie, 5/12/2011 -
" Teddy Roosevelt as a child and young man. In the beginning it is difficult to keep father and son Theodores straight. TR Jr. is definately an "interesting" child. "
— Cheryl, 5/10/2011 -
" I have two favorite Teddy Roosevelt biographies -- this one and the one I read in 6th grade. "
— Ddelmoni, 5/6/2011 -
" A tribute to the family - especially the father that shaped this very influential President of the United States. Roosevelt is a classic example of how our weaknesses become our strengths as he overcame his physical limitations. "
— Karen, 5/2/2011 -
" This was recommended by a friend. I'll let you know "
— Martha, 4/7/2011 -
" Another great read from David McCullough. This one is about Theodore Roosevelt but instead of focusing on the later life events we are all aware of (president, etc), he chooses to focus on his early life and basically asking the question "What made him the man he was?". Fascinating. "
— Dan, 3/24/2011 -
" Interesting history, focused on his childhood and family life. "
— Amy, 3/18/2011
About David McCullough
David McCullough (1933-2022), acclaimed historian and #1 New York Times bestselling author, twice won the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback. His other acclaimed books are 1776, Brave Companions, The Johnstown Flood, The Great Bridge, The Greater Journey, and The Wright Brothers. He was awarded numerous honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, and more than forty honorary degrees. In 1995, the National Book Foundation conferred on him its lifetime Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
About Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann (1943–2014) was one of America’s top audiobook narrators. He won multiple Audie Awards and twenty-two Earphones Awards, and his narration of the King James version of the Bible remains a benchmark in the industry.