Albany Times Union
reporter Grondahl (Mayor Corning: Albany Icon, Albany Enigma
) does an outstanding job of documenting Theodore Roosevelt's evolution from brash young political reformer to shrewd and pragmatic political operator, always with his eye on various idealistic prizes. Grondahl first introduces readers to Roosevelt as a boyish, scrawny 23-year-old arriving in Albany during the snowy January of 1882 for his first term in the New York State legislature. He then proceeds to show how the upstart scion of New York's Knickerbocker elite learned to deal with such corrupt and wily operators as "Big John" McManus, "Boss" Tweed, Roscoe Conkling and Tammany enforcer Richard Croker. As Grondahl painstakingly documents, this phase of Roosevelt's life proved to be a vital first step in his political coming-of-age. What he learned in Albany set the stage for the next round in his education as federal civil service commissioner in Washington, D.C., during the late 1880s and early '90s and his colorful tenure as police commissioner of New York City (1895–1897). Moving through these positions and subsequent posts (assistant secretary of the navy, commander of the Rough Riders, governor of New York, vice-president and president), Roosevelt grew as a politician in ways painted quite deftly by Grondahl. Starting off as an uncompromising but ineffective crusader riding a high horse, Roosevelt ended up as a studied master of brinksmanship and deal maker, capable of forging vital political alliances that resulted in meaningful political reform. Agent, Dan Mandel.
(June 10)
