Roosevelt ( 1858 - 1919 ) was afkomstig van een Amerikaanse familie met ( waarschijnlijk ) Nederlandse wortels ( Zeeland - eiland Tholen - dorp Oud Vossemeer ) die reeds in de 17e eeuw naar Nieuw-Amsterdam ( New York ) emigreerde ; Theodore Roosevelt was de 26e president van de Verenigde Staten ( periode 1901 - 1909 ) ; onder zijn bewind werd het Panama-kanaal aangekocht ; in het boek worden ook zijn kinderen belicht die oa. in de Eerste Wereldoorlog actief meestreden ( zijn jongste zoon sneuvelde )

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in THE LION ´S PRIDE , Edward J. Renehan jr. vividly portrays the grand idealism , heroic bravery , and reckless abandon that Theodore Roosevelt both embodied and bequeathed to his children - and the tragic fulfillment of that legacy on the battlefields of World War I ; drawing upon a wealth of previously unavailable materials , including letters and unpublished memoirs , THE LIONS ´S PRIDE takes us inside what is surely the most extraordinary family over occuppy the White House ; Theodore Roosevelt believed deeply that those who had been blessed with wealth , influence and education were duty bound to lead , even , perhaps especially , if it meant risking their lives to preserve the ideals of democratic civilization ; Teddy put his principles , and his life , to the test in the Spanish American War , and raised his children to believe they could do no less ; when America finally entered the ´ European Conflict ´ in 1917 , all 4 of his sons eagerly enlisted and used their influence not to avoid the front lines , but to get there as quickly as possible ; their heroism in France and the Middle East matched their father´s at San Juan Hill ; all performed with selfless - some said heedless - courage : 2 of the boys , Archie and Ted jr. , were seriously wounded , and Quentin , the youngest , was killed in a dogfight with seven German planes ; thus , the war that TR had lobbied for so furiously brought a grief that broke his heart ; he was buried a few months after his youngest child