Of the Presidents whose writings have been included among the first 152 volumes in the Library of America series, only Lincoln and now Theodore Roosevelt have merited two separate volumes. Scholars rank TR as America's fifth best president overall, and he surely ranks among its most prolific writers. Novelist and TR biographer Auchincloss has sifted through the enormous collection of Roosevelt's writing to capture some of his best pieces. The first volume contains The Rough Riders (1899) and the four-times-longer Autobiography (1913). These major works are followed by the editor's detailed chronology of TR's life, a very useful "Note on the Texts," and further notes. The second volume consists of 367 of the more than 100,000 letters TR wrote during his lifetime. Four of his most famous speeches are also included "The Strenuous Life" (1899), "The Big Stick" (1901), "The Man in the Arena" (1910), and "The New Nationalism" (1910) followed by a duplicate of the chronology from the first volume, a brief note on the texts, nearly 50 pages of editor's notes, and an index. The material in these volumes illustrates TR's diverse interests, ebullient spirit, and writing talent. Essential for both public and academic libraries. William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.