The Bully Pulpit

Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism

By: Doris Kearns Goodwin

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Winner of the 2015 Audie Award for History/Biography and Finalist for Audiobook of the Year

Pulitzer Prize–winning author and presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s dynamic history of Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft and the first decade of the Progressive era, that tumultuous time when the nation was coming unseamed and reform was in the air.

Winner of the Carnegie Medal.

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit is a dynamic history of the first decade of the Progressive era, that tumultuous time when the nation was coming unseamed and reform was in the air.

The story is told through the intense friendship of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft—a close relationship that strengthens both men before it ruptures in 1912, when they engage in a brutal fight for the presidential nomination that divides their wives, their children, and their closest friends, while crippling the progressive wing of the Republican Party, causing Democrat Woodrow Wilson to be elected, and changing the country’s history.

The Bully Pulpit is also the story of the muckraking press, which arouses the spirit of reform that helps Roosevelt push the government to shed its laissez-faire attitude toward robber barons, corrupt politicians, and corporate exploiters of our natural resources. The muckrakers are portrayed through the greatest group of journalists ever assembled at one magazine—Ida Tarbell, Ray Stannard Baker, Lincoln Steffens, and William Allen White—teamed under the mercurial genius of publisher S.S. McClure.

Goodwin’s narrative is founded upon a wealth of primary materials. The correspondence of more than four hundred letters between Roosevelt and Taft begins in their early thirties and ends only months before Roosevelt’s death. Edith Roosevelt and Nellie Taft kept diaries. The muckrakers wrote hundreds of letters to one another, kept journals, and wrote their memoirs. The letters of Captain Archie Butt, who served as a personal aide to both Roosevelt and Taft, provide an intimate view of both men.

The Bully Pulpit, like Goodwin’s brilliant chronicles of the Civil War and World War II, exquisitely demonstrates her distinctive ability to combine scholarly rigor with accessibility. It is a major work of history—an examination of leadership in a rare moment of activism and reform that brought the country closer to its founding ideals.

Timely, prescient and fascinating

As always, Godwin’s writing and scholarship bring alive a most fascinating era in American (and world) horror. As daunting as the volume might be, every bit of it is illuminating. I especially liked her attention to the role of women in these events. It is difficult not to recognize the parallels to contemporary events and the battle between corporate/industrial factions vis a vis populist and social interests, not to mention the egos, mendacity, and dividends of politics through this time. But oh, how lovely the ultimate success of love, respect and friendship between Taft And Roosevelt!! We can only hope it is a model for the future.

A book for our time

Would you listen to The Bully Pulpit again? Why?

Parts, yes. There're are many areas of the book, written about the early 20th century politics, media, and influence, that are relevant to early 21st century. I'd like to read different parts again, to learn how those times can help us better understand now. There are some incredible parallels to our times, and I think we can learn from the many historic figures in this book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Bully Pulpit?

So many parallels to now, you will stop and gasp sometimes at the similarities.

Have you listened to any of Edward Herrmann’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, I've heard other performances of his. He is not my favorite reader, but I like this performance. It's not hard to listen to.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Gasp, sometimes.

An insightful look at the first part of the twentieth century

Real personality demonstrated in the political players of the first part of the twentieth century. An interesting counterpoint to the story of the Wright brothers. A real insight into McClure magazine and the journalism of the day.

Good read!

Excellent story of the interaction of media with politics at the time.
Doris Kearns Goodwin is a wonderful author and historian.

Excellent History of early 20th Century Politics

As a big fan of both Theodore Roosevelt and Doris Kearns Goodwin, I looked forward to this book. I was pleased to learn so much more about Taft, and the golden age of journalism. I was inspired to learn more about these heroes and heroines who committed their time and energy to exposing the evils of their time. It is an immense juxtoposition to the wide world of entertainment and media that has linked the world together in our modern era, and the current state of the journalism.

The book serves as an in depth guide to the lives of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft during the start of their political carriers and the epic climax of the 1912 general election. The book also mirrors the lives of Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell, Philip Baker, and some other well known muck-rakers, as well as their eccentric leaders SS McClure and John Philips. An excellent voice highlights the new-found popularity of the journalism-juggernaut, and its clash with the exciting and rapidly changing 20th-century. You'll find this book one of the best listening experiences on audible.