The King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward VII, the Secret Partners

From Publishers Weekly In this problematic book, Boston University professor Fromkin ( A Peace to End All Peace ) asserts a personal strategic relationship between president Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII during the Algeciras Conference of 1906. The gathering was to mediate the future of Morocco; France, backed by other European powers, argued for protectorate status, while Germany, wanting to end French dominance in Morocco, argued for independence. The bulk of the book recounts the lives of Edward VII, his tempestuous nephew Kaiser Wilhelm II, and of TR prior to Algeciras. In emphasizing a collaboration between Roosevelt and Edward, neither of whom attended the conference, Fromkin seems to discount the roles of lead mediator Henry White, and his capable assistant Samuel R. Gunnmere, in orchestrating the results, which were largely unfavorable to Germany. Fromkin likewise discounts the machinations of the British Foreign Office, which outweighed any influence the monarch might have had. Only one direct communiqu?—secret or otherwise—between TR and Edward, dispatched after the conference, is cited, making Fromkin's assertion of a close secret partnership a reach. Overall, Fromkin's volume is without a raison d'?tre. Illus. (Sept. 5) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review "Thrilling and unexpected." -Johann Hari, The New York Times Book Review "A joy to read." - Library Journal An intimate look at two extraordinary figures and their secret collaboration?one that turned the alliance structure of the political world upside down In this character-driven study, acclaimed historian and bestselling author David Fromkin reveals how two colorful figures?Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh? assumed leadership of the English-speaking world at the beginning of the twentieth century. As human beings, the two men could hardly have been more different. Edward, a lover of fine food, drink, beautiful women, and the pleasure-seeking culture of Paris, had previously been regarded as nothing more than a playboy. Across the Atlantic, Theodore Roosevelt, the aristocrat from Manhattan and self-made cowboy, would rise above his critics to become one of the nation?s most beloved presidents. Together, they wrote the agenda for the North Atlantic democracies of the twentieth century.