Rough Riders audiobook

This was a pleasant surprise. I honestly don’t remember downloading this one on my Kindle but I must have. It was there. I didn’t intend to read it at this point in time. It wasn’t in my que but I by chance, I opened it and started to read a few pages and I couldn’t put it down. What a page turner this is. It was a near effortless read. I loved it. The title is extremely accurate. The focus is on TR and his Rough Riders and their part in the Spanish American War. TR grew up with a sense of guilt over his father’s failure to do his civic duty in the Civil War. TR’s father paid for a replacement - a legitimate option - to fight for him. When the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor and war was afoot, TR resigned his post as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and raised a cavalry regiment with his friend, Leonard Wood, a Professional Soldier as Colonel and TR as a Lieutenant Colonel. TR had made many friends during his ranching days out west in the 1880’s. The book contained a funny story about Teddy when he first arrived in Wyoming to become a rancher. The locals played a trick on the tenderfoot. They substituted an unbroken bucking bronco for TR’s horse. TR mounted the horse and was immediately bucked off. He got on it again and was thrown off a second time. The locals started to hoot and holler as TR attempted to mount the horse a third time. The prankster’s attitude suddenly changed believing that the greenhorn was going to hurt himself. They tried to stop him but TR would have none of it. He gripped the unbroken horse between his knees and proceeded to ride and break the horse. The cowboys were impressed by the pluck of this man. TR quickly won over the respect of the men of the West with demonstrating courage like this. The 1st US Volunteer Cavalry Regiment nicknamed the Rough Riders, was made up mostly of Westerners that could out ride and out shoot any Easterner. There was also a fine mix of college athletes from Back East. Everyone wanted to be a Rough Rider and they captured the imagination of the nation. The Volunteer Regiment was one of the few – maybe the only – Volunteer Regiment to have the 30-40 Krag. This was the first smokeless powder rifle adopted by the US Army. It fired a .30 caliber round with 40 grains of smokeless powder. Other Volunteers and all Reserve units still used black powder. Black powder automatically gave away the position of infantry firing a volley so smokeless powder was a game changer. They also had two modern Colt Machine guns and a unreliable pneumatic gun that fired charge of dynamite called a dynamite gun. Much of the regiments was funded by TR and his wealthy Eastern college buddies.The deployment was a disaster. There was not enough room for all the Rough Riders in the holds of their ship and there certainly was not enough room for horses for all but a few of the officers. The Rough Riders would have to fight on foot. One of TR’s horses drowned on deployment and he would have to make due with one horse for the campaign. TR proved to be a natural leader and a fine soldier and he quickly distinguished himself in battle during the first engagement. Leonard Wood was quickly promoted to General and TR found himself in charge of the regiment. Shortly after this, Roosevelt would lead a dramatic charge up San Juan Hill. My history teacher told me that Teddy was brave but he was facing unmotivated Spaniards with rusty broken down weapons. I was surprised to learn that that the Spaniard’s 1893, 7mm Mauser was a far superior rifle to the 30-40 Krag. It was more accurate and had a higher muzzle velocity then the 30-40 Krag. The author said that the Mauser magazine could be loaded very quickly with a clip of bullets. Upon further reading, I learned that the magazine was staggered to increase the capacity to hold 5 rounds. Furthermore, the Spaniards were entrenched and had fields of fire and artillery pre-sighted in. The Rough Riders attacked with the 10th US Cavalry on one flank and the 2nd US Cavalry on the other. 6,600 men charged up San Juan and Kettle Hills and 1,400 became casualties. A US Army investigation attributed the 20% US casualties to the superior, flat-shooting, fast-loading, 1893 Mauser rifle used by the Spaniards. TR was recommended for the Medal of Honor for his role in the charge but he was not to see this accommodation during his life time. According to the author, TR had offended the Secretary of the Army and the rest of the War Dept. Also, the military establishment were very jealous of the publicity of the attention the Rough Riders received by the press. It wasn’t until Bill Clinton was in office, did TR’s descendants receive the MOH. The author made it clear that any historian that plays down TR’s role in the charge is either ignorant or being a partisan. This was a fun, entertaining outstanding read and if you have an interest in Teddy Roosevelt or the Spanish American War you ought to try this one on for size. It provided hours of nighttime fun. It is a five star read.

This is a terrific story of the founding of the Rough Riders and then their deployment and combat experience. And the aftermath. Teddy Roosevelt was a bundle of energy--and sometimes that might not have been so good, in general. In this case, his energy had positive effects--although perhaps not so much at the outset of the Spanish-American War.The sinking of the Maine in Cuban waters (under the control of Spain) fed a lust for war with Spain. The assumption was that that nation had taken action to sink the Maine. History suggests that that was an inaccurate explanation. Nonetheless, many prominent Americans--including TR--urged that the US avenge the sinking of the Maine. This is not Roosevelt at his best. A part of him wanted "action," to take part in military action.The book chronicles the process by which the Rough Riders (a cavalry regiment) were recruited and trained. Roosevelt wanted cowboys, sharpshooters, and others from the West (including native Americans). Also participating--gentlemen from the East Coast, including athletes, upper strata individuals, and so on. A strange mix indeed! But the troops got along pretty well, given their differing backgrounds.Roosevelt was neatly terrified by the possibility that his regiment would not be sent into battle. He used his many connections to make sure that his troops got into the fight. In the end, of course, a large proportion (but not all) of his troops boarded transports (without their horses) and steamed toward Cuba.The work does a nice job of describing the difficult conditions in Cuba--inadequate supplies, heat, disease. There is a solid depiction of the battles that involved the Rough Riders. The deaths and injuries suffered and the accomplishments. The regiment did well--but suffered heavily from battle casualties and disease.Afterwards the Rough Riders became favorites of the American people. The troops went back to their homes and life went on. Some did well--others poorly. There was such esprit, that meetings of surviving troops took place. TR's arrival at such meetings was responded to well.The book also provides a good picture of TR--his pluses (intelligence, energy, imagination, a concern for the people) and some minuses (a lust for battle and a willingness to push the nation toward war). All in all, a fine volume and very readable.

I love reading about Teddy Roosevelt. This book covers his exploits with the Rough Riders from start to finish - including their connections after the War. Overall I thought this was really well written and it does a nice job of including the many personalities that were a part of the Rough Riders. It is fair to Roosevelt and calls out his flaws when the occurred (especially in regards to his indifference and even disdain for the African American Buffalo soldiers). Recommended if you enjoy Roosevelt, a good battle, or the Spanish American War time period.

I will always be a sucker for a battle narrative, a read that allows one to get a closer look at what unfolds on the field of battle without actually having to dodge and weave from bullets yourself. (Of course, one will never get a true feeling of battle without partaking in one.)This book is a prime example of this. Mark Lee Gardner has written a definitive account about what it was like for Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders to charge up both Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill while under withering fire from an enemy with superior arms.And yes, you heard me right: Kettle Hill AND San Juan Hill. One of the biggest revelations from reading this book is that the Rough Riders did in fact charge up both hills. There is a fallacy among the history of the Spanish-American War that the famed Rough Riders never charged up San Juan Hill, and that it was actually only Kettle Hill they attacked. Gardner concludes that this was born from unwarranted criticism, and that historical records prove that the Rough Riders engaged the Spanish in both battles.Great writing filled with interesting and relevant facts. A good work of history combines both. Rough Riders by Mark Lee Gardner falls easily in this category.

I won this book as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways in exchange for my honest review.Teddy Roosevelt led a fascinating life, so I tend to read everything I can about him and this book will fit in nicely with my ever growing collection of TR books. Most people know the basics about Teddy and the Rough Riders, but what sets this book apart is the level of detail paid to the unit as a whole. Of course Teddy is the focus, but you really get to know a lot of the other colorful characters that filled out the historic troop.I gave it 4 stars as it's a concise, informative, quick book that reads very smoothly.

This book provides a look at Theodore Roosevelt's time with the First Volunteer Cavalry during the Spanish-American War. Considering it only comprises a period of several months, Rough Riders is demonstrative of just how accomplished and filled to the the brim the life of this American leader was.Author Mark Lee Gardner deserves credit for keeping this book tightly focused on the short-lived Rough Rider unit and its goings-on immediately before, during, and after the Spanish-American War. It provides only the briefest glimpses of Teddy Roosevelt's life before and after this period in 1898.The story will be familiar to scholars of Roosevelt: anxious to demonstrate his mettle and patriotism, then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt jumps on the opportunity afforded by the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine to stir up anti-Spanish, patriotic fervor. Aided by the Yellow Press (a situation skillfully written about in The War Lovers) goading the country's leadership into war, a cautious by nature President William McKinley decides to sends troops to Cuba. Roosevelt promptly resigns his day job in D.C. and, to hear Gardner tell it, tries to pull strings with governors and a general to gain an appointment to a regiment bound for the fighting. Then in his late thirties, Roosevelt sees his time to gain "glory" in actual combat vanishing like sand in an hourglass.He winds up as lieutenant colonel of the First Volunteer Cavalry under Colonel Leonard Wood. This unit trains in San Antonio prior to shipping off to Tampa en route to Cuba. The author spends ample time talking about the different backgrounds many of the man who mustered in San Antonio came from. Dilettante millionaires from New York mingled with cowboys from New Mexico and Arizona, making for a narrative that was more than often than not enjoyable to read.This book does not forego detailing snags along the way to the battlefield (and possibly some on the battlefield) including confusion on the rail routes to Tampa and a delay which causes the anxious-to-depart Rough Riders to wait on board their ships before departing for the war zone. Troops like Oklahoma Pawnee William Pollock and sheriff, school superintendent, and mayor William "Buckey" O'Neill added a human touch to the military glory attained by the First Volunteer Cavalry unit. It would have made for an even better narrative to hear more about the characters, but the book's focused structure did not allow for much deviation. Little mention is made of the Cuban insurrectos whose cause, ironically, America supposedly entered the war to promote. They often seem like bit players in a narrative centered around the Americans.There is, however, quite a bit of detail when it comes to gruesome injuries sustained during the fighting at Log Guasimas and the charge toward the Spaniards at San Juan "Kettle" Hill. Most readers will understand that war is hell without quite so many gory details. The June 24, 1898 Los Gusimas battle is made to look like a situation where Roosevelt unnecessarily endangered his men so that the Rough Riders could gain the sort of accolades due from a win against the enemy. It is writing like this which frees Mark Lee Gardner from looking like a total T.R. apologist. Gardner also worked a good bit into the narrative regarding just how much other fighting units were irritated at the positive, glowing press received by the Rough Riders. His description of the two main fights the Rough Riders were in-at Los Gugimas and the July 1, 1898 charge up Kettle Hill-are composed with flourishes typical of such writing. They do not become overly bogged down in confusing detail, but neither do they contain top-notch flair for battle writing.Prior to the Rough Rider's departure to the war zone, Gardner paints a scene showing Roosevelt jumping the Rough Riders ahead of a regular Army unit, supposedly to avoid any possibility of "missing out" on action in Cuba before the conclusion of what many suspected to be a short-lived war. Anecdotes like this show T.R. as a man willing to do what it took to get on the front lines and ensure his men got to participate in the sort of adventure he was always craving. Gardner could have written even more about how Roosevelt-always good at using the press--leveraged newspaper writers who were present in Cuba (men like Richard Harding Davis) to ensure the exploits of himself and his unit were amply covered. T.R.'s dislike for the wartime management of men like Secretary of War Russell Alger is an example of the good eye for detail contained in this book. The human element, though possible to improve upon, was one of this book's stronger traits.Roosevelt comes across as a brave leader during his brief stint in combat, though not one immune from the human desire to be the center of the press's adulation. This is a solid book for what it is: a breezy narrative of several spring and summer months in 1898.-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado

An insight with letters, newspaper accounts, diary entries and more, along with photographs and documented sources on the Rough Riders and Theodore Roosevelt.I won a copy of this book during a Goodreads giveaway. I am under no obligation to leave a review or rating and do so voluntarily. I am paying it forward by passing this book along to a friend or family member who I think will enjoy it too.

This was quite a fun read. The author Mark Gardner gives us a fast paced account of Theodore Roosevelt’s famous Army volunteer unit nicknamed the Rough Riders that fought during the Spanish American War. The book was not just only about Teddy Roosevelt; it was also about the men who comprised the unit.The author’s narrative of events left me glued. The book begins with the excitement of war that spread across America after the US Navy Ship USS Maine was blown up in Cuba. Thirst for revenge mobilized many men to join the Army in hopes of an adventure and the book covered different men who wanted to join the military to be a part of the upcoming war. I thought it was interesting how many of the men were afraid that they would miss an adventure of a lifetime, afraid that the war would past them by leaving them untried and untested. There’s quite a bit of machismo here and it wasn’t only among the enlisted men that eventually became the Rough Riders, it was also true of the officers of the unit. It was insightful seeing how Roosevelt was at this time the assistant secretary of the Navy and he dropped that office in order to seek more direct participation of the war effort. As the book reveals from Roosevelt’s writing, he was seeking glory of being a participant of the combat that is to come. It seems like then as well as now we see young men desiring to go to war. Meanwhile there are some who try to caution these men to reconsider. Roosevelt himself was told by friends and family to consider his station in life, his wife and his children. Yet Roosevelt was determined to go to war. Against all odds and competition between regular Army units and volunteer outfits Roosevelt had to pull on some strings using his political capital to be able to go to Cuba for the war.One get the sense of the Swashbuckling attitude of the Rough Riders. The author also did a good job portraying the many colorful personalities in the unit. You have your cowboys. You have your Ivy League college boys. The unit even had a former law enforcement officer in the unit that was together with a fugitive which ironically the officer before the war was trying to apprehend. Then you got the interesting pets that the unit brought along with them. The actual battle of San Juan Hill was shorter than I expected in the book. Much of the book covered the journey to the war. I suppose that was expected given the Spanish American War went relatively quick. There’s a sense of romanticism with the glory of war one that the characters involved would have enjoyed less if it was a more prolonged and total conflict like the World Wars that would follow a few decades afterwards. As I read the book I thought about the days in 2003 when I was a young Marine among other Marines, many of whom were heading off to war for the first time as well. While technology and means of transportation has changed, it seems the human condition and human nature stays much the same.The book also had a neat epilogue in which the author discussed about the men after the war with their pride in accomplishment, their relations to Teddy and for some how they sought the President for favors or to get out of trouble. This was very interesting for me to read. I appreciated the bravery of Roosevelt and others in the book and reading of the camaraderie among the men of the unit.

This is a well written and researched book. It is the second book by the author I have read and like “To Hell On A Fast Horse” it is an engaging read. The author presents a detailed history of the Rough Riders and the challenges they faced. It also includes what happened to several of them after the conclusion of the Spanish American War. It also debunks the conspiracy theorists and historians who claim that it never happened. Overall a very good read.

Well Researched Story, Vividly ToldAn excellent historical narrative. Author makes liberal use of quotes and first hand accounts to present a vivid and compelling story.

My daughter gave me this book for Father's Day with the inscription: To another 'Rough Rider' - Love Bridget. I am pleased to share my feelings about Mark Lee Gardner's, "Rough Riders" the true history of Theodore Roosevelt, His Cowboy Regiment, and the Immortal Charge Up San Juan Hill. We need this type of research to assure that history, as we know it, is truthfully told as it occurred. I gained a deeper understanding of an American hero, Theodore Roosevelt, because of this book. Mark Lee Gardner indeed did his research traveling from Colorado, to Boston, New York City, Washington D.C., as well as lengthy trips to New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas - to share this story with us fortunate readers. His research led him to prolific letters and diaries written by dozens of the original members of the Rough Riders, plus newspaper articles and journals written about this memorial time in American History. I learned that Theodore Roosevelt was not selfish and contributed what he could to make the life of the "Rough Riders" more palatable. When you read this book you will feel the heat of the battle and hopefully, like I, will gain more respect for Theodore Roosevelt. My biggest surprise was how individuals would try to take away how heroic Theodore Roosevelt truly was. There have always been spoilers out there that attempt to change history to be what they think is "politically correct" rather than the way it actually happened. I suggest that you read this account and form your own opinion without the distractions tried by jealous individuals. Enjoy...

This work is a solid 4.5 star read. Gardner brings together lesser known events of history, and brings them to life. His representation of Roosevelt is the best I have read. He has become a more impressive individual in my esteem. His role in leading the Rough Riders didn’t create Roosevelt; it provided the stage in which the integrity and character of Roosevelt were allowed to be seen, though that was never Roosevelt’s intent. Not only does the author do a superb job of portraying Roosevelt, he also gives us an unvarnished look at his times. It gives the reader an opportunity to see some of the flaws of American history, which our current cancel culture endeavors to erase, and how men were shaped by them and, rose above them. It also allows us to see that, for all the flaws that remain, how far America has progressed in correcting them. The only weakness to the book (and it may be more of myself, the reader) is that it gets bogged down at times in the final chapters. While I appreciate his concluding vignettes of the Rough Riders, I think some of them could have been omitted. Some were helpful, filling in the portrait of Roosevelt. Others just felt like filler. If you like American history and biography, this volume is worth reading. Expect a 5 star read, but you won’t be overly disappointed if it falls a bit short.

A very informative book encompassing a part of Teddy's life that I personally knew little about - I have previously read about his years as commissioner of the NYPD and his fight against corruption there and of course about his many feats during his presidency. However, although his time in the Rough Riders was frequently alluded to in other books this was my first real exploration of it. Gardner was a descriptive story teller and I appreciated that he gave readers perspectives from various sources other than Teddy himself - other Rough Riders, war correspondents, and friends of Roosevelt. As someone who is not a frequent reader of war books or battle strategies, I found his descriptions of the battles the men were in and the particulars of the chain of command that Roosevelt was so often frustrated with easy to follow and I never found myself confused about what was going on. I enjoyed learning more about Teddy and why he was awarded a Medal of Honor and would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quick read about a part of Teddy's life that is not as often spoken about.

Most of us, whether Roosevelt aficionados or not, have at least heard of the Rough Riders. And we're probably aware of their charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba. But holy moly, the whole thing was just about a clusterf**k! The problems started before the Rough Riders were even formed in the first place, and continued to plague the 1st Volunteer Cavalry, as they were officially designated, right up through the aftermath of the war. In these pages, you'll find possibly more than you thought you wanted to know about the Rough Riders and their role in the siege of Cuba. The politics! The combat! The long periods of boredom punctuated by short periods of terror! If you're at all interested in Roosevelt, while this might not be the best place to start, it should certainly be near the top of your list. In short, if someone hasn't made the movie, why the heck not???

I was very curious about the Rough Riders, having heard very little of them. While I appreciate Gardner's efforts to make this feel like a story, it couldn't help but stray into just a long list of back to back excerpts from the soldiers' letters home. Sometimes it kept the action moving, but sometimes it just gave me whiplash. One small incident would be told, and suddenly end, and another subject broached. It lost its storytelling aspect that way. However, overall, I feel like I probably will have much more of the account of the Rough Riders' exploits lodged in my memory through this method than if I had just read a textbook. I approached this book because of some research I wanted to do for some historical fiction I am writing. It did the trick.