A captivating new account of how Theodore Roosevelt s lifelong passion
for the natural world set the stage for America s wildlife conservation
movement and determined his legacy as a founding father of today s
museum naturalism
No U.S. president is more popularly associated with nature and wildlife
than is Theodore Roosevelt prodigious hunter, tireless adventurer, and
ardent conservationist. We think of him as a larger-than-life original,
yet in "The Naturalist," Darrin Lunde has firmly situated Roosevelt s
indomitable curiosity about the natural world in the tradition of museum
naturalism. As a child, Roosevelt actively modeled himself on the men
(including John James Audubon and Spencer F. Baird) who pioneered this
key branch of biology by developing a taxonomy of the natural world
basing their work on the experiential study of nature. The impact that
these scientists and their trailblazing methods had on Roosevelt shaped
not only his audacious personality but his entire career, informing his
work as a statesman and ultimately affecting generations of Americans
relationship to this country s wilderness.
Drawing on Roosevelt s diaries and travel journals as well as Lunde s
own role as a leading figure in museum naturalism today, "The
Naturalist" reads Roosevelt through the lens of his love for nature.
From his teenage collections of birds and small mammals to his time at
Harvard and political rise, Roosevelt s fascination with wildlife and
exploration culminated in his triumphant expedition to Africa, a trip
which he himself considered to be the apex of his varied life. With
narrative verve, Lunde brings his singular experience to bear on our
twenty-sixth president s life and constructs a perceptively researched
and insightful history that tracks Roosevelt s maturation from exuberant
boyhood hunter to vital champion of serious scientific inquiry.
"From the Hardcover edition.""
