Book Review: Theodore Roosevelt and the Assassin by Gerard Helferich
On October 14, 1912, as the presidential election campaign was in the home stretch, Theodore Roosevelt, was seeking a third term as President, this time as the candidate for the Progressive Party (better known as the Bull Moose Party). As he was leaving the Hotel Gilpatrick in Milwaukee, on the way to give a speech at Union Depot, a fanatical former saloon-keeper named John Schrank emerged from the crowd brandishing a nickle-plated revolver and fired, striking the former president in the chest. In his 2013 work entitled Theodore Roosevelt and the Assassin: Madness, Vengeance and the Campaign of 1912, author Gerard Helfereich tells the story of Roosevelt's run for a return to the White House, and the Bavarian immigrant who stalked the 26th President across the country before their meeting in Milwaukee.
In an extremely well-researched work, Heferich uncovers the roots of would-be-assassin Schrank's obsessive quest to prevent Roosevelt from winning another four-years as president. He traces the route traveled both by the candidate and his stalker as both crossed the country on their respective missions. While Roosevelt's activities were more publicized, Heferich uncovers and retraces Schrank's steps in exceptional detail, making the reader feel like an literal eyewitness to history. His account of the shooting and of the speech that Roosevelt insisted on giving after he had been shot is especially compelling reading.
This is an outstanding account of an episode of presidential election history that seems larger than life, much like the Bull Moose candidate himself. Although at times it seems that the author is taking liberties in speculating what some of the central characters were thinking or doing, he explains in an author's note how these conclusions are more fact-based than one might imagine. Helferich has produced a brilliant historic account of Schrank's attempt to end the life of the energetic and enigmatic former president that is a pleasure to read.
In an extremely well-researched work, Heferich uncovers the roots of would-be-assassin Schrank's obsessive quest to prevent Roosevelt from winning another four-years as president. He traces the route traveled both by the candidate and his stalker as both crossed the country on their respective missions. While Roosevelt's activities were more publicized, Heferich uncovers and retraces Schrank's steps in exceptional detail, making the reader feel like an literal eyewitness to history. His account of the shooting and of the speech that Roosevelt insisted on giving after he had been shot is especially compelling reading.
This is an outstanding account of an episode of presidential election history that seems larger than life, much like the Bull Moose candidate himself. Although at times it seems that the author is taking liberties in speculating what some of the central characters were thinking or doing, he explains in an author's note how these conclusions are more fact-based than one might imagine. Helferich has produced a brilliant historic account of Schrank's attempt to end the life of the energetic and enigmatic former president that is a pleasure to read.