Part biography and part historical examination of the field of natural history preservation, Lunde's Naturalist begins with Roosevelt's childhood as the foundations for his natural interests. As a boy growing up in New York City, he collected "as many specimens as possible", encouraging his parents to do the same when they traveled without him. By the time Roosevelt was a teenager, he had become a "full-bore birder". At Harvard he took classes on anatomy, vertebrate physiology, and botany, hoping to emulate heroes John James Audubon and Spencer Fullerton Baird. As an adult, Roosevelt studied animals "by shooting them, stuffing them, and preserving them in natural-history museums".
Even Roosevelt's attraction to big-game hunting in Africa satisfied both his yearning for outdoor adventure and his intellectual curiosity.
Lunde explores Roosevelt's environmental activism and his accomplishments in political office, most notably his lobbying for the establishment of Yellowstone National Park, and impressively narrates how Roosevelt was able to pursue his passions during a contentious political career.
Naturalist is a real historical treat and a joy for environmentalists, too.
I received a free copy of this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review here.
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