The Boys of '98: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders

by Dale L. Walker

Book Overview

The author of Roosevelt's Rough Riders from the author of Legends and Lies1998 marks the centennial year of the Spanish-American War and of the war's most memorable fighting force, the volunteer... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312864795
• ISBN13: 9780312864798
• Release Date: May 1998
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.9" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

a great cast of characters

Dale Walker, interested in the wonderful varieties of human beings and their motives and their deeds, has found a splendid subject in the TR's Rough Riders and their exploits in Cuba. Every kind of foible and heroism are here, seen by an eye delighted by all of it. First-rate history.

This book will be the standard work on the Rough Riders

Dale Walker again proves himself to be one of the country's finest popular historians, and the peer of Stephen Ambrose. His study of the Rough Riders is history at its finest. He examines Theodore Roosevelt (who dreamed up the idea of a brigade of tough westerners), the cowboys and frontiersmen who formed themselves into this legendary outfit, and the way these men acquitted themselves in a vicious battle. Walker vividly depicts the men, the obstacles, the politics, and the ultimate charge that turned these cowboys into American heroes in the brief Spanish-American War. He includes a fine description of the roots of the conflict and its impact on the world. This is a magnificent book. If you want to read one book about that war, this is the book to read.

Not your usual stuffy historical non-fiction.

Dale Walker has managed to make the history of a military campaign readable, and enjoyable. This book moves along well, and is packed with information, as well as fleshing out the characters involved. It is an even-handed treatment of the Cuban campaign. I did find one error (which must be a typo, as Walker is too good an historian to make this gross an error) when it mentions that the Spanish Mauser fires a .45 caliber slug, when in fact it was 7mm caliber. Walker uses a lot of sources for this book, including the press accounts of the military correspondents, and interviews with the surviving Rough Riders. In all, it fleshes out the campaign, and is meatier and more accessible than any other treatment of the Rough Riders. The inclusion of little-known facts, such as Edgar Rice Burroughs' attempt to join the regiment, are gems. A splendid effort!

A Historical Page Turner?

You bet it is!Speaking as a college graduate with a degree in History, I can testify to the usually dry manner in which history is presented in some of the more popular works.Mr. Walker has given the subject of Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders a fine literary treatment. After having lived through years of having to force myself to read the most boring and dry works on history during my college days, I am left with one burning question. Why can't all authors treat their choosen areas of history with he same enthusiasm as Mr. Walker obviously has for his?Have even the vaguest interest in the last decade of the 19th century? A passing curosity about Theodore Roosevelt? Ever wondered what was really going on during our assault on Cuba? Then grab this book. Its guaranteed to entertain even those who hated history class!

Spirited and factual account of subject - instant standard!

Dale Walker has captured the spirit of the spring of 1898 in this lively and accurrate account featuring The Rough Riders. He vividly traces the road to war focusing on the individual members and experiences of this "uniquely American" regiment while providing just the right ammount of background to keep these events in context. Fast paced and exciting, The Boys of '98 transports the reader back to America's Guilded Age and introduces a courageous, eccentric, and ambitious cast while factually describing their adventures. A strength of this work is the interviews conducted in the early 1970's with the last three living Rough Riders. The book also features a well done section on sources. Must reading for the casual fan or scholar of the "splendid little war"