Teddy and Booker T.: How Two American Icons Blazed a Path for Racial Equality (Hardcover)
The New York Times bestselling author of George Washington's Secret Six and Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates turns to two other heroes of the nation: Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington.
When President Theodore Roosevelt welcomed the country’s most visible Black man, Booker T. Washington, into his circle of counselors in 1901, the two confronted a shocking and violent wave of racist outrage. In the previous decade, Jim Crow laws had legalized discrimination in the South, eroding social and economic gains for former slaves. Lynching was on the rise, and Black Americans faced new barriers to voting. Slavery had been abolished, but if newly freed citizens were condemned to lives as share croppers, how much improvement would their lives really see? In Teddy and Booker T., Brian Kilmeade tells the story of how two wildly different Americans faced the challenge of keeping America moving toward the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Theodore Roosevelt was white, born into incredible wealth and privilege in New York City. Booker T. Washington was Black, born on a plantation without even a last name. But both men embodied the rugged, pioneering spirit of America. Kilmeade takes us to San Juan Hill, where Roosevelt led his Rough Riders to a thrilling victory that set the stage for a legendary presidency, and to a small town in Alabama, where Washington founded the first university for African Americans, paving the way for the Civil Rights Movement. Both men abhorred the decadence and moral rot the nation had fallen into, believed that improvement through careful collaboration was possible, and trusted that the American ideals of individual liberty and hard work could propel the neediest toward success, if only those holding them back would step aside.
As he did in George Washington's Secret Six, Kilmeade has transformed this nearly forgotten slice of history into a dramatic story that will keep you turning the pages to find out how these two heroes, through their principles and courage, not only changed each other, but helped lay the groundwork for true equality.
When President Theodore Roosevelt welcomed the country’s most visible Black man, Booker T. Washington, into his circle of counselors in 1901, the two confronted a shocking and violent wave of racist outrage. In the previous decade, Jim Crow laws had legalized discrimination in the South, eroding social and economic gains for former slaves. Lynching was on the rise, and Black Americans faced new barriers to voting. Slavery had been abolished, but if newly freed citizens were condemned to lives as share croppers, how much improvement would their lives really see? In Teddy and Booker T., Brian Kilmeade tells the story of how two wildly different Americans faced the challenge of keeping America moving toward the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Theodore Roosevelt was white, born into incredible wealth and privilege in New York City. Booker T. Washington was Black, born on a plantation without even a last name. But both men embodied the rugged, pioneering spirit of America. Kilmeade takes us to San Juan Hill, where Roosevelt led his Rough Riders to a thrilling victory that set the stage for a legendary presidency, and to a small town in Alabama, where Washington founded the first university for African Americans, paving the way for the Civil Rights Movement. Both men abhorred the decadence and moral rot the nation had fallen into, believed that improvement through careful collaboration was possible, and trusted that the American ideals of individual liberty and hard work could propel the neediest toward success, if only those holding them back would step aside.
As he did in George Washington's Secret Six, Kilmeade has transformed this nearly forgotten slice of history into a dramatic story that will keep you turning the pages to find out how these two heroes, through their principles and courage, not only changed each other, but helped lay the groundwork for true equality.
Brian Kilmeade is the author of George Washington's Secret Six, Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates, Andrew Jackson and the Miracle of New Orleans, Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers, and The President and the Freedom Fighter, all New York Times bestsellers. Kilmeade cohosts Fox News Channel's morning show Fox & Friends and hosts the daily national radio show The Brian Kilmeade Show and the Fox Nation series What Made America Great. He lives on Long Island. This is his eighth book.
"Brian Kilmeade has done it again, delivering another great book about a relationship that changed our country for the better."
—BRET BAIER, author of To Rescue the Constitution
“A marvelous dual biography of two heroic American leaders. Highly recommended!” —DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, author of The Wilderness Warrior
“The character these two men possessed is incomparable, and the legacy they’ve left behind is a thing of immeasurable value. What a timely and important book.” —MIKE ROWE, host of the hit TV show Dirty Jobs and CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation
“For those unafraid of the unlikeliness—and real beauty—of American history, read this!” —CONGRESSMAN HAROLD FORD JR., (D-TN, Retired)
“A reminder of the importance of unlikely friendships in moving America forward.” —BEN JEALOUS, former president of the NAACP
“A must read. I could not put it down.” —PERCY “MASTER P” MILLER, rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur
“A fascinating and powerful history lesson. —DR. SARAH WASHINGTON O’NEAL RUSH, author of Rising up from the Blood and great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington
“This book is about hope—a hope that we are stronger together and that progress is possible in the face of impossible barriers.” —ROBERT WOODSON, civil rights activist and president of the Woodson Center
“A meaningful story of the unlikely and consequential relationship that has important lessons for all of us still working on this imperfect union we love fiercely.” —DANA PERINO, author of Everything Will Be Okay
“This book is not only an important addition to the Theodore Roosevelt historical canon but will also serve as a roadmap for the possibilities of political discourse in our tumultuous times.” —TWEED ROOSEVELT, chairman of the Theodore Roosevelt Institute at Long Island University, and great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt
“A bold retelling of the story of two great leaders, with a strong message for modern day Americans. We can all learn to share our differences with respect and dignity, and learn from each other." —TYRUS, professional wrestler and author of Just Tyrus
—BRET BAIER, author of To Rescue the Constitution
“A marvelous dual biography of two heroic American leaders. Highly recommended!” —DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, author of The Wilderness Warrior
“The character these two men possessed is incomparable, and the legacy they’ve left behind is a thing of immeasurable value. What a timely and important book.” —MIKE ROWE, host of the hit TV show Dirty Jobs and CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation
“For those unafraid of the unlikeliness—and real beauty—of American history, read this!” —CONGRESSMAN HAROLD FORD JR., (D-TN, Retired)
“A reminder of the importance of unlikely friendships in moving America forward.” —BEN JEALOUS, former president of the NAACP
“A must read. I could not put it down.” —PERCY “MASTER P” MILLER, rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur
“A fascinating and powerful history lesson. —DR. SARAH WASHINGTON O’NEAL RUSH, author of Rising up from the Blood and great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington
“This book is about hope—a hope that we are stronger together and that progress is possible in the face of impossible barriers.” —ROBERT WOODSON, civil rights activist and president of the Woodson Center
“A meaningful story of the unlikely and consequential relationship that has important lessons for all of us still working on this imperfect union we love fiercely.” —DANA PERINO, author of Everything Will Be Okay
“This book is not only an important addition to the Theodore Roosevelt historical canon but will also serve as a roadmap for the possibilities of political discourse in our tumultuous times.” —TWEED ROOSEVELT, chairman of the Theodore Roosevelt Institute at Long Island University, and great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt
“A bold retelling of the story of two great leaders, with a strong message for modern day Americans. We can all learn to share our differences with respect and dignity, and learn from each other." —TYRUS, professional wrestler and author of Just Tyrus