“A vivid look at the challenges Theodore Roosevelt faced in his early career. Heir to the Empire City
will surprise a lot of people who know little or nothing about New York
City’s role in Roosevelt’s life. Even more surprising is his home
town’s growing admiration for him as he struggled to rescue the city he
loved from entrenched political corruption.”

“Kohn shows us the ways Roosevelt both shaped and
was shaped by the city…He was not a cowboy after all but an adroit politician
who ‘carefully calculated what was practicable,’ and Kohn persuades us that New
York was Roosevelt’s prep school for the presidency.”

“Theodore Roosevelt has
come down in history as the ‘cowboy president,’ a man whose persona was shaped
by the period he spent in the Dakota badlands as a young man, riding, hunting,
even owning two sizable ranches…This claim—created in large part by Roosevelt
himself—draws a healthy snort of disagreement from historian Edward Kohn…The truth is, Mr. Kohn writes, Roosevelt is far more a product of New York City
than the West…Yet Mr. Kohn takes
care not to diminish the sincerity of Roosevelt as a man who took an interest
in the welfare of the poor and disadvantaged—causes he pursued in various New
York City offices and then as governor of New York state.”

“Kohn’s prose is snappy
and engaging, and his portrayal of the city—from the economic slump of the
1850s, through the Civil War, and [the] growth of the avenues of corruption
that…would be TR’s charge to clean—is as vivid as his evocation of the man
himself…This is a tight and well-argued thesis.”

“Theodore Roosevelt is often remembered as a cowboy and a man of the West who began his path to the White House while herding cattle on his Dakota ranch…Kohn provides a concise account of Roosevelt’s early career and presents a convincing case that he should be remembered as a gentleman of the East, not a cowboy of the West.”

“Focused and concise, this book is a solid choice for general readers of history not sufficiently aware of TR’s cosmopolitan background in contrast to his adopted cowboy persona. It details another side of a consequential, transformative rather than transitional president.”

“Kohn’s latest study of Theodore Roosevelt focuses on the influence of his hometown, New York City, in shaping his political legacy…An intriguing portrait of Roosevelt’s ascendance to power that will leave readers wanting more of his life and work.”

“Edward Kohn has captured the lively personalities and dramatic scenes of
New York life at the end of the nineteenth century. His Theodore
Roosevelt is a thorough New Yorker, full of brash energy and innovative
ideas, scrappy and hard to keep down. Kohn tells a well-crafted and
lightning-quick story of TR and his New York, a tale which will reward
readers with entertainment and insight into a central phase of the city
and the nation’s history.”

“A timely reconsideration of the Theodore Roosevelt legend, reminding us
that he was no rough-hewn cowboy from the wild west but instead a
sophisticated urban progressive immersed in the politics of his native
New York City. Thought-provoking and refreshingly readable.”

“Theodore Roosevelt is
among the great American presidents, but the elements that formed his
exuberance, intelligence, and zeal for reform have divided historians. In a
detailed and swift moving biography, Edward P. Kohn argues that Roosevelt, born
in and vigorously attached to New York, never left home in his heart and mind.
Roosevelt, from the moment he was first elected to public office, learned from
the city’s people, its streets, and its often vicious politicos. Working
against and sometimes with powerful local politicians, he remade New York. This
whirlwind apprenticeship made him a seasoned leader and more than prepared him
for his [task] as president.”

“[Kohn] is to be
commended for his insight into the character and deeds of a man historians rank
in the top five of this country’s presidents.”