Though best known for his dense historical writings, the 26th president also produced one children’s book, six years before he took office. With fellow politician Henry Cabot Lodge, a future senate majority leader, Theodore Roosevelt wrote “Hero Tales from American History,” 26 stories of great Americans in 1895. Intended for teen readers, the book describes American legends, heroes, and battles. Chapters by Roosevelt include “George Rogers Clark and the Conquest of the Northwest,” “Remember the Alamo,” and “The Death of Stonewall Jack.”
The authors explain their purpose in the book’s introduction: “to tell in simple fashion the story of some Americans … who proved their truth by their endeavor,” which is, they say, “an especially good thing for young Americans to remember.”
