Tom Swift Writer’s Notebook

I recently finished The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey, a national bestseller and a book that landed on a number of respected short lists — including the New York Times and the Washington Post Book World — for best book of the year (it was published in 2005). So author Candice Millard scarcely needs my endorsement. But if you enjoy well-written narrative nonfiction, and you haven’t already done so, it’s a trip worth making.

Random notes made along the way:

• The author obviously did her homework. In fact, maybe she got paid to do other kids’ homework, too. The book includes a staggering amount of information about the Amazon and all things living in the jungle. At times, there’s a bit too much for my interest level, with multiple-page riffs on ants and such.
• Millard crafted a credible and layered portrait of the many dangers inherent in the journey — and the many man-made reasons why it was made more treacherous. The scene she painted was so convincing that half way through I wondered why on earth Teddy Roosevelt, his son, and other explorers were subjecting themselves in the first place. Some of that is my make-up. The life-or-death-adventure-for-the-sake-of-it gene is not in my DNA.

• Roosevelt’s personality, of course, was much different than my own, and reading about how he used physical exertion to deal with problems was good for me. Usually it’s best to move on, not dwell, and I see how a journey of that sort could have served a purpose following his failed 1912 presidential campaign. At times, though, it didn’t seem like a trip to escape; it seemed like a suicide mission.
• The most riveting part of the story is the back slice that begins at the end of Chapter 22 (most of the chapters are short). Roosevelt, according to Millard’s research, actually, in fact, did contemplate suicide following an accident that had left him impaired. She also provides more personal color — for a long time the jungle was the star of the show — of the ex-president that may offer insight into his motivations. Around this point in the book I noted that, “this is what I have been waiting a 150 pages for.”
• The author wraps up the narrative nicely with a substantive epilogue that includes details (such as those about Roosevelt’s son, Kermit) that are not likely news to those who have read a lot about T.R. but were news to me. Roosevelt didn’t die on the River of Doubt but, Millard shows, the expedition still may have been his undoing.

This post was added on Saturday, July 26, 2008 by Tom Swift at 09:41 and is filed under Reading Material.