A great story of how people from differing backgrounds and cultures can have the same ideas and how they try to get the same results from differing directions

Great story telling. ( )

October 16, 1901, new President Theodore Roosevelt invited his friend and advisor about Black issues, Booker T. Washington to dine with him at The White House. That one decision, by a man who valued hard work by all people, caused a backlash by the South that affected every other decision made in his presidency because after all that was equivalent to inviting the black man to rape and pillage his daughters.

This book does a great job of giving Teddy's backstory and Booker's backstory by alternating chapters. When the two finally converge, the history moves forward from there. When Teddy makes a decision that affects 197 black men and bars them from their pension and their future ability to make a living, it is not sugarcoated, but noted in history.

Teddy and Booker T looks at the personalities of both individuals, the decisions they made, the influence of WEB DuBois on the next generation, and the state of the union in the early 1900's Jim Crow era of the deep south which makes any thinking person cringe.

Well worth the read. ( )

Booker T. Washington and Theodore Roosevelt formed as much of a friendship as was possible between a southern Black man and a northern politician around the turn of the last century, and Brian Kilmeade uses this connection as the center of Teddy and Booker T. He explores both of their backgrounds, their meeting, and then follows their subsequent relationship through Roosevelt’s presidency until both of their deaths. This is not a particularly well-written book, but readers looking for a cursory examination of both men and their relationship will find a precise story with a lot of interesting notes and primary sources. (FYI — a terrible audiobook with inconsistent reading, tone, and recording volume. Publishers need look no further if they ever need an example of why it’s worthwhile to spend money on a professional reader instead of using the author.) ( )

Very misleading title and subtitle for a surprisingly fair enough pop history of an important time at the turn of the 20th century after the assassination of President McKinley (who unlike TR, treated Washington with great respect). Washington rightly is portrayed as a hero and title notwithstanding TR is rightly portrayed as being on the wrong side of racial history, having betrayed Washington after their dinner and also in TR's outrageous Brownsville decision made after ignoring Booker T. Washington's advice. Not sure who is responsible for making the cover lead potential book buyers to think there is some equality in contributions by TR and Washington; for me, to leave this otherwise worthwhile book on my shelf, I just fixed the cover by (1) changing the words Two American Icons to be One American Icon and (2) placing 3 rooster stickers around TR -- although unlike the repentant Apostle Peter who wept bitterly, TR's displays of post-dinner regret appear to be for perceived pragmatic self-interest not for the pain and harm he caused Washington and the cause of justice. Anyway, it's a quick read and not as bad as the ridiculous cover suggests. ( )

Teddy and Booker T. by Brian Kilmeade

What could a wealthy man who would one day become president of the USA and a poor black man born in slavery have in common? Well, a whole lot more than you might ever imagine! This book is a well-written, fluid, biography of two men well known in history. I had a bit of knowledge about both men but this book, well, it opened my eyes and made the two men come alive as I read.

I sometimes think we have come “a long way” and then read books like this and do see change but also see that there is still oppression, bias, bigotry and cruelty over a century after the civil war.

So, what did these two men have in common? Drive, ambition, wanting better for others, the willingness to reach out and make things happen for themselves and for others. They both revered education and the spoken and written word. They wanted to see the betterment of the fellow man. BUT, they were also men of their era and influenced by the beliefs of their times.

Both men lost women they loved, gave much to become who they were, and became symbols of their era that live on today.

The author managed to make both men come alive through his writing and made me see them, experience some of what they did, and come away with admiration for both men. I also was happy to NOT live back then when medical science was less than it is now and women and children (and perhaps men, too) died too young.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Teddy Roosevelt and/or Booker T. Washington because this book is easy reading with information that is relevant now while telling the stories of two great men of the past.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sentinel – Penguin Random House for the ARC – this is my honest review.

5 Stars ( )