I doubt if even such a reader could stand the fellow on
a longer acquaintance. To this conclusion all must come in their saner
moments, and yet most will, I think, finish the book in one spell and
be under the delusion at the end of it that all their troubles
would be solved at once if only their friends would talk and conduct
themselves more like _Henry_.
* * * * *
In _Theodore Roosevelt: an Autobiography_ (MACMILLAN) the ex-President
shows us how it was done: how he started life as a weakly lad and by
perseverance made himself what he is to-day. But what is he? That is
the insoluble problem. No two people, least of all Americans, seem to
agree on the point. I have heard Mr. ROOSEVELT called everything
from a charlatan to the Saviour of his Country. For myself, if I may
intrude my own view, I have always admired the "Bull Moose." But,
since nobody on this earth, in America or out of it, can really
understand American politics, my respect has been for Mr. ROOSEVELT'S
private rather than his public performances. And in the view that
he is, take him all round, a pretty good sort of man, this book has
confirmed me. He has told his story well. Nor is the Power of the
Human "I" too much in evidence. It is just a simple, straightforward
tale of a particularly interesting life. Whatever your views on Mr.
Pages:
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61