The Rough Riders

Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing, 1997. First Edition, First Printing thus. Hardcover. Good. Format is 8 inches by 10.75 inches. ix. [1], 221, [1] pages. Illustrations (some in color). Editor's Note on the Taylor Edition of The Rough Riders. Prologue by Richard Bak. For Further Reading. Photography and Illustration Credits. Ex-library with usual library markings. Some cover wear. Scuffing inside front and rear covers. This is an abridged version of Theodore Roosevelt's classic account of his Spanish-American War exploits. The entire narrative as it first appears in serial installments in Scribner's Magazine in 1899 is included, although the footnotes and appendices Roosevelt added when the publisher later repackaged the material as a book are not. The prologue, sidebars, and reading list were all prepared especially for this volume. The Taylor edition of The Rough Riders also features more than 10 illustrations, including several previously unpublished photographs. The son of an autoworker, Bak worked on the assembly line at Chrysler and Ford before becoming a writer. He is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University, where he studied history and was editor of the school's literary magazine. As a journalist and an author, his published works generally reflect his regional Midwestern roots. Roosevelt kept a detailed diary from the time he left Washington until his triumphant return from Cuba later that year. The Rough Riders was published to instant acclaim in 1899. Robust in its style and mesmerizing in its account of battle, it is exhilarating, illuminating, and utterly essential reading for every armchair historian and at-home general. There were 560 Rough Riders who made it to Cuba. One in three would be killed, wounded, or disabled by disease during their 133 days of service, the highest casualty rate of any regiment in the war.