White House dot gov has a very nice biography of each of the U.S. presidents. Start with G.W. (the competent one). If I erased everything I know about American history and rated the presidents solely by these biographies, I’d pick Teddy Roosevelt as the one who outshines them all.
Doug is bad at small talk.
Animal of the week: A snoring dormouse, although I think it's asthmatic.
Washington man myself. That moment when, as victorious General of the Revolution, he spurns all the profferred trappings of kingship, and then steps down after two terms -- lotta nobility there. Not many precedents in history, either.
After Washington, FDR.
And after him, maybe Benjamin Franklin -- the only President of the United States who was never President of the United States.
Printer. Author. Scientist. Ambassador. Freethinker.
Posted by: joel hanes | Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 04:54 AM
I'm with you on Franklin. Possibly my favorite historical figure.
Posted by: Mark H | Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 01:54 PM
Have you read The Big Burn, by Timothy Egan? The story of Teddy R., Gifford Pinchot, the creation of the Forest Service and the politics of the day. An incredibly gripping read. It made me a true fan of Teddy. We need another Teddy today.
t.
Posted by: t. | Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 04:34 PM
t :
A worthy followup to The Big Burn is Curt Meine's biography of Aldo Leopold, one of the first US Foresters, who was chosen by Pinchot and worked closely with him for a while. (If you haven't yet read Leopold's Sand County Almanac, you might read that first).
Posted by: joel hanes | Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 03:58 PM
Joel:
My husband did his post-doc with Estella Leopold and she gifted him with an autographed copy of Sand County Almanac. He's still in touch with Estella, but I'm not sure if she's still at UW. An amazing family to be sure.
t.
Posted by: t. | Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 05:30 PM