Mornings on Horseback

By David McCullough,

Book cover of Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt

Book description

The National Book Award–winning biography that tells the story of how young Teddy Roosevelt transformed himself from a sickly boy into the vigorous man who would become a war hero and ultimately president of the United States, told by master historian David McCullough.

Mornings on Horseback is the brilliant biography…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

4 authors picked Mornings on Horseback as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

David McCullough is one of my favorite authors of history, and Mornings on Horseback is, in my opinion, one of his best works.

McCullough introduces us to the young Theodore Roosevelt, from early childhood to early adulthood. Born to a Southern mother and a father who would later contribute heavily to the Union cause, he grew up in a mansion in New York City but spent considerable time ranching in the Badlands of North Dakota.

Teddy Roosevelt was a fascinating man with contradictions and character, the perfect subject for a masterful biography.

One of America’s best historians vividly brings the Gilded Age to life in his book about the early life of our 26th president. As a history buff, I love being transported back in time, even if it’s just via the page.

McCullough does an excellent job painting a picture of a wealthy New York family whose eldest child was so afflicted with asthma that doctors said he wouldn’t reach adulthood. Inspired by his father, Theodore Roosevelt not only reached adulthood but conquered it in a way no American ever has before or since.

What motivated young Teddy to build his…

It’s inspiring to read how a sickly boy became the larger-than-life figure who dominated turn of the century America. Although born into a famous and wealthy family, the young Theodore’s future seemed hopeless because of his repeated bouts with an illness that almost killed him. But through his own will, and with the inspiration and support of his remarkable family, he managed to overcome his ailment and grow into robust and productive manhood. McCullough’s discovery of a rich cache of family letters allowed him to create a fine-grained and moving narrative about how this exceptional man came to be.

From Vladimir's list on grit transforms people’s lives.

No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

By Rona Simmons,

Book cover of No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

Rona Simmons Author Of No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I come by my interest in history and the years before, during, and after the Second World War honestly. For one thing, both my father and my father-in-law served as pilots in the war, my father a P-38 pilot in North Africa and my father-in-law a B-17 bomber pilot in England. Their histories connect me with a period I think we can still almost reach with our fingertips and one that has had a momentous impact on our lives today. I have taken that interest and passion to discover and write true life stories of the war—focusing on the untold and unheard stories often of the “Average Joe.”

Rona's book list on World War II featuring the average Joe

What is my book about?

October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on any other single day of the war.

The narrative of No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident while focusing its attention on ordinary individuals—clerks, radio operators, cooks, sailors, machinist mates, riflemen, and pilots and their air crews. All were men who chose to serve their country and soon found themselves in a terrifying and otherworldly place.

No Average Day reveals the vastness of the war as it reaches past the beaches in…

No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

By Rona Simmons,

What is this book about?

October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, or on June 6, 1944, when the Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, or on any other single day of the war. In its telling of the events of October 24, No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident. The book begins with Army Private First-Class Paul Miller's pre-dawn demise in the Sendai #6B Japanese prisoner of war camp. It concludes with the death…


So much of the story of Theodore Roosevelt – the story told about him, and the story he told the world – is rooted in his experience as a sickly child of an all-powerful yet kind aristocratic father. McCullough dives into all of this, piecing myth apart from reality while using Roosevelt’s early years in upper-crust New York to paint a picture of America as it moved from the Civil War era to the Gilded Age.

Want books like Mornings on Horseback?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Mornings on Horseback.

Browse books like Mornings on Horseback

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in childhood, Teddy Roosevelt, and presidential biography?

Childhood 196 books
Teddy Roosevelt 47 books