The Bully Pulpit

Update: 8/2/2021: Years ago, I tried to listen to this book while driving to and from school. Sadly, I was not able to complete it before it was due, but I liked it enough to know I was going to re-read it someday. I liked Edward Herrmann, as I am convinced that he can do no wrong with his narration. I also liked how this book explored the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Yet, I didn't like how the author chose to study the journalism that came to prominence during this time, as I don't think it added much to the subject overall. Now, having read this book in its entirety, I can say that, unfortunately, my feelings have not changed very much at all.

The best aspect of this book is how Goodwin treats both Roosevelt and Taft. Few books these days take a comprehensive look at Taft, and fewer still inspect the relationship he had with Theodore Roosevelt. This book manages to do both very well, with Goodwin taking the time to chronicle their early lives in a nice amount of detail for a 900-page book. As far as I am concerned, choosing this book for the William Howard Taft section of my Presidential Biography Reading Challenge is a great choice (not that there's much to choose from, but still). Each person here is analyzed well, with Goodwin writing about both the positives and negatives of Taft and Roosevelt's characters. Roosevelt was just the sort of person who could lead us into the 20th century, as he worked to bust trusts and prove that the President still had power, after some 50 years of anemic heads of state. Yet, this fighting spirit could be too much for some, as he could come off as combative. Also, Roosevelt simply did not know when to quit, as his campaign to run for a third term nearly cost him his life as he barely escaped death from an assassin's bullet.

Taft was also a solid figure in history. He wanted to get to the Supreme Court all his life but eventually chose the Presidency, which he hated. Taft had the right mind for the job but he did not like being second-guessed and having to deal with the political fallout of his decisions. In other words, something that judges rarely have to face, but Presidents must consider all the time.

Both of these people, as well as their evolving relationship, are given detailed descriptions in this text. It is fun to see them become fast friends, as the dramatic irony would set in, and I knew where these two would eventually end up as Roosevelt would try and run for a third term in 1912, destroying his relationship with Taft in the process.

Yet, there is the third topic that Goodwin chooses to write about in this text, the so-called “Golden Age of Journalism''. During this time period, there was a rise of Journalists who were willing to write about the corruption and poverty that plagued society. Called ‘muckrakers' for their ability to find the dirt on any official or cooperation with the express goal of reform, many magazines became popular for their ability to find the dirt on anyone in power. Goodwin attempts to prove that Roosevelt used this new style of journalism to his advantage to help bring down the trusts that plagued the people just trying to make a living. Yet, I am sorry to say that Goodwin fails to do this for me. At best, Roosevelt using the journalists back then would be like a President using Twitter today. Yes, the President was smart enough to use it, but that is more convenient than anything else. As a result, the sections where Goodwin delves into the development of McLure's magazine, one of the top muckraking journals of its day, feel tedious and overdrawn. It is clearly the section of the book that one could skip, and not lose much of the message overall.

And that is really the crutch of this book: while it has the ability to focus on the relationship between Roosevelt and Taft, it arguably spends the least amount of time on it. This book instead tends to study the two of them as though Goodwin were writing separate biographies for both, then wanted to write about muckraking journalism. Then her publisher said they did not have time/market/whatever for each of them, so she hurriedly tried to combine all three. The result feels mushy and unsatisfying. If you are looking for a book on Taft, and/or his relationship with Roosevelt, then this is perhaps your best choice. If I were you, however, I would skip anything having to do with the journalism portion of the book, and read something dedicated to the topic. You won't miss much. I give this book a three out of five.


Original Review 5/22/2015: This text was one of the most interesting texts I have read in a while in terms of non fiction. There are few books that manage to do justice to Howard Taft, compared to the many books for Theodore Roosevelt. Yet, this text manages to display them both in a positive manner, all the while managing to leave their personalities and faults up to the reader. This text also balances these two people with, what the text calls “the golden age of journalism”. In this case, that means everything from McClure's Magazine to the different newspapers and muckrakers of the era. These forces are in-forcibly intertwined with Taft and Roosevelt, and this book does a very good job at giving information on all three elements.

On second thought, perhaps that's too good a job. While this book is chock full of information, at over 900 pages, or 30 CD's, I say it has too much in to to be very readable. At best, one could say that it provides copious information on a diverse range of topics relate to muckrakers and Taft and Roosevelt. At worst, it keeps changing topic with little idea in mind of the overall message: how each of these men either used, or failed to use the press during their Presidency, and how we judge them today as a result. (At the very least, I think that was the message). In the midst of trying to listen to this book, I just lost interest in the person who made a certain magazine popular, and what her life philosophy, background, and education were, when I could be reading about much more interesting information. I think this is because I bought this book under the assumption that I was going to hear about, predominately, Taft and Roosevelt, not about these seemingly random people who have seeming little connection to them.

In the end, I think that if this topic does interest you, you should get a copy used, and read it intermittently between other reading material. It is a beast of a book that took me too long to read it before it was back due at the library, so maybe I'll pick it up, but until I can finish it, as it stands, I give it a three out of five.