Theodore Roosevelt, the Citizen Book

There was a time when I had really wanted to write a biography of Philip F. LaFollette for a hypothetical PhD. And so there was more than a little excitement and heartbreak when I saw this book on a bookstore shelf one day. Philip F. LaFollette was the second son of Wisconsin's Governor-turned-Senator Robert M. LaFollette. Of the two LaFollette sons, Phil was easily the most like his father, but was overshadowed by his elder brother Bob Jr., leading Phil to once refer to himself as "the first son, born second." Despite this, Phil LaFollette lead a successful and highly interesting life, becoming the youngest man ever elected as Governor of Wisconsin, splitting the state GOP, creating his own third party, and becoming a gadfly to the FDR administration. A radical in a time that favored radicals, he become a national figure. Unfortunately, as the politicla winds turned, LaFollette was less able than others to adapt. After leaving office, and never attaining the Senate seat that he dreamed of, he served on the staff of Douglas MacArthur during the Second World War and then retired to write his memoirs. Honestly, being out of political power wore on Phil, and caused tensions with his older brother who had his own Senate seat to protect. A fascinating and ambitious man, one is left with the impression that he never quite managed to attain the heights that he should have - partially as a result of the growing national and centralizing trends of the Roosevelt administration.