The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

"This biography of a transformative leader navigating complex systems fits Jamie Dimon's interest in history and effective leadership, aligning with his focus on business and societal impact."

"This is one of the great political biographies. Teddy Roosevelt was like a character out of a novel, so it’s not surprising that his biography reads like one. This book is the exact opposite of Homer and Sylla. Homer and Sylla are all facts all the time, the long swing of history. This book is about admiration for an individual, a man who rises through a series of remarkable – if not incredible – coincidences. Within 10 years, he goes from being a somewhat unsuccessful chief of police in New York City to being president of the US. You have to read the details to understand how he did it. The key thing is that he channelled the times. He channelled a lot of the progressive objections of the day to the political and economic system into the heart of the Republican Party. He forged an alliance across the political spectrum that really confronted concentrated economic power and changed it absolutely and completely, most directly using the anti-trust laws. He was remarkably successful and very popular when he was done, though after he left office and tried to come back it didn’t go so well. But in his day, Roosevelt’s achievement was profound. When you look at this history, and see how he got there and how he held and exercised power, you realise that it’s not easy to find such individuals, who really want to break with the system. We need another Teddy Roosevelt. He’s certainly not another Teddy Roosevelt. We’ll see whether or not he gets a second term. Roosevelt did not wait for his second term to confront JP Morgan and Northern Securities. He took the opportunities when they presented themselves. He took a lot of risk to do that, but built a very strong coalition opposing concentrated economic and financial power. “Roosevelt did not wait for his second term to confront JP Morgan and Northern Securities. He took the opportunities when they presented themselves” He was tapping into a broad American tradition – with support from the right and the left – but it was a distinctly Rooseveltian coalition. It didn’t long survive the end of his political career. No. If you read this book, you’ll see how tough it was for him. Nobody expected him to become president."