In "The Naturalist," author Darrin Lunde, a specialist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, provides a comprehensive look into the experiences and ethics that shaped former US President Teddy Roosevelt's interest in conservation, naturalism, and wilderness protection. While other books have explored a more holistic view of Roosevelt the man and Roosevelt the presidency, Lunde's sole focus is to give the reader an understanding of Roosevelt as a "hunter-naturalist."

Roosevelt as a naturalist (and others from the era, like John Audubon) can make modern-day conservationists squirm. The ethos of their time was collect (e.g. kill) animals for scientific study, and to compile a "catalog" of known species. Though we may cringe at the means, "virtually everything we know about the morphology, geographic distribution, and ancestral relationships of animals is derived from the vast collections of specimens housed in museums." And we have Teddy Roosevelt to thank, not only for personally providing many specimens, but for establishing the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Lunde provides a detailed (at times, too detailed) history of Roosevelt's fascination with nature and the outdoors, which began in childhood. Beyond simply a hunter, Roosevelt knew an incredible amount about the science of naturalism, and generally prepared his own specimens (readers will get a short course on taxidermy in this book!) He also covers Roosevelt's leadership in establishing Yellowstone as the U.S.'s first national park, and other land preservation efforts.

While the topic is very interesting the book lagged in places. Rather than following a narrative non-fiction model, Lunde's book often comes across as a recitation of facts, which led to my disinterest. Some topics (descriptions of particular hunts and a continuing explanation of the hunter-naturalist mindset) were way too drawn out. Other topics, such as Roosevelt's impact on land preservation, felt short-changed.

I enjoyed this, but would hesitate to recommend to those without a strong interest in Roosevelt and/or early natural history.

3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This was an interesting but difficult read. Roosevelt was a complex man and certainly a greater blend of contemplative scientist and blood thirsty , macho hunter may never again be found. I felt that the author was highlighting the hunter and downplaying the scientist, animal lover. The many live animals Roosevelt kept and his trip to South America, were not included. At one point, the author says, not quoting Teddy but in his own words, that there is no way someone can know about an animal without having killed it themselves. I'll get the book and copy the quotation in, because I want to be fair, but I wonder what a poacher knows about chimpanzees that Jane Goodall doesn't know. Anyway, a must read for all Teddy fans, and for those with an interest in natural history, with the caveat that those collections have to come from somewhere and this book pulls no punches ( )

“The Naturalist” is a concise biography of Theodore Roosevelt with an emphasis on his life as a naturalist. It provides insights, not only into Roosevelt’s life, but also into the naturalist vocation.

TR’s introduction to the natural world occurred in his childish encounter with a seal in a neighboring grocery. After purchasing the specimen, he measured it, skinned and stuffed it, making it the first exhibit in his home Roosevelt Museum of Natural History. Roosevelt became an expert taxidermist, with all its unpleasant and repulsive features. How tolerant his parents must have been.

In Roosevelt’s day, the work of a naturalist was to kill and collect specimens of varieties of fauna for observation by the public. TR pursued this quest in New York, Maine, western hunting grounds and East Africa.

I have read extensively about Theodore Roosevelt, but learned much from this account about him and the naturalist of his era. The idea that his hunting was so scientifically motivated is more forcefully made than in other biographies I have read. Contemporary concepts of a naturalist as one who preserves the natural state contrasts with TR’s destruction to fill museum exhibits, but that is the difference a century makes. The hardships of TR’s hunting expeditions are amazing.

A thoroughly examined life such as Theodore Roosevelt’s requires a reason for another biography. Author Darrin Lunde has found one. Skimming over the framework of his subject’s life, Lunde views a life through a unique prism to catch hues overlooked by others. I recommend “The Naturalist” for readers seeking insights practitioners of natural history and for those searching for new facets of TR’s life.

I did win a copy of this book from The Library Thing. ( )

One must remember that in Teddy Roosevelt's time no one thought that predations by man could wipe out the animals. It was generally believed that animal populations were ever renewing and the religiously minded interpreted the scriptures to mean that the animals existed to be exploited by man. T.R. loved animals--in fact he loved them to death. As a hunter he was game to partake in the slaughter, but he also studied and catalogued the animals he encountered. Despite this dichotomy, he managed to foster an awareness of the need for preservation and to him we largely owe the creation and preservation of our natural parks.The Naturalist is not for the tender of heart for the descriptions of the hunts are violent and bloody. Roosevelt was a man of his times. If he were alive today I hope he would be hunting with a camera. ( )

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Perceived as a swash-buckling president, a rough rider, hunter, and preservationist dressed in a buckskin suit, Teddy Roosevelt has, in my lifetime, maintained his larger-than-life persona and for good reason. This book is the first study I have been subjected to regarding the man, and I could not have been more surprised over how much I did like him early on in my reading as I learned of his exploits, trials, and personal loss. Roosevelt like many others did not escape a lifetime of personal tragedy. He endured more than his share. And his evolvement as hunter to protector is of course as unsettling as it is amazing. Roosevelt lived in a vastly different time than we can comprehend fairly today. Financial and societal privilege afforded him many opportunities that most of us have only read about. But unlike others born into this privilege Roosevelt used his to further an agenda for good and to mark his time in history as significant and admirable. Theodore Roosevelt overcame poor health, a weak body, a childhood of city privilege and elitist pressures, to become a naturalist of the first rank. Focussing on the naturalist and human side of his subject Darrin Lunde provides his reader with a most-rewarding portrait of one of our country’s larger-than-life individuals who ever walked the earth.

After his evolvement as a naturalist and his two terms as president of the United States, Roosevelt seemed to change. And the last quarter of the book disturbs me to no small degree. What had previously come in the opening three quarters was a fascinating study of a man engaged with principal and courage. But beginning with the eagerly anticipated and extravagant African safari at the end of his presidency this endearing portrait of Roosevelt became a bit disgusting as he seemed to posture and demonstrate a pretentiousness absent in his early years. Cloaked behind a Smithsonian facade of scientific collection marched a loud and obnoxious cavalcade of pomp and bulge. For example, his sanctioned and personal killing of so many lions appeared to be wasteful, cruel, and extreme. Each subsequent page to follow felt uncomfortable. My disgusting reading about this particular safari was growing by the page and it became more difficult to remain enamored with the man who did so much to protect our lands. Though he did preserve a mass of wilderness for us, he failed in many respects to save the creatures inhabiting these spaces. Roosevelt was a hunter first who protected his sport through conservation. But, in fact, he was a killer of trophy wild animals who, with bad eyesight and poor skills, maimed and made suffer the most beautiful ones roaming the wild among us.

…Scouting around the first day, they saw seventy or eighty buffalo grazing in the open about a hundred yards from the edge of the swamp. It was too dark to shoot, but, heading out again early the next morning, Roosevelt and his party let fly a hail of ammunition to bring down three of the massive bulls.…It was a real chore for him to write in the field, and he joked that it was his way of paying for his fun.

What confounds me is the thinking that must go on in the head of any blood sport hunter. These men must have ignored the fact they were killing a creature that belonged on the planet just as much, or more, than they did. A wild creature of feeling, free to roam the plains being massacred by a privileged as well as massive and pretentious army hiding behind a cover of science, their rabid blood lust and joy celebrated on these killing fields. Conservation’s legacy handed down by Mr. Roosevelt is sadly tarnished by this horrid and destructive behavior not only by him but also by the hand of his son, Kermit.

…his Scribner’s accounts almost gave the impression that he was trying to provoke a reaction from the anti-hunting factions, as he documented his kills—botched shots and all—in unashamed detail…”I felt proud indeed as I stood by the immense bulk of the slain monster and put my hand on the ivory,” said Roosevelt, and then everyone began the work of skinning …

During this African safari Roosevelt and his companions killed or trapped approximately 11,400 animals, from insects and moles to hippopotamuses and elephants. In this biography Darrin Lunde has provided facts and story enough to honor Theodore Roosevelt as one of the most important naturalists who ever lived. And due to countless excesses he did help our evolving natural history museums to thrive. But at the cost of so many innocent and free lives, it saddens me.
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