The Boys of '98: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders Unknown - 1998

From the publisher

The author of Roosevelt's Rough Riders from the author of Legends and Lies1998 marks the centennial year of the Spanish-American War and of the war's most memorable fighting force, the volunteer cavalry regiment called the Rough Riders, led by the redoubtable Colonel Theodore Roosevelt.The Boys of '98 is the complete, colorful story of the regiment: the recruitment of its members -- a peculiar mix of Western frontiersmen and idealistic young Easterners (many of them from Harvard and Yale, and called the lah-de-dah-boys by the crusty Westerners); their slapdash training in Texas and Florida; and their battles at Los Guasimas, Kettle Hill, and San Juan Hill under the gutsy command of Theodore Roosevelt, who led his Rough Riders from San Antonio to San Juan Hill and kept riding, some say, directly into the White House.Dale Walker's spirited story of the regiment includes an account of why America went to war over Cuba, and how victory in the Santiago Campaign was achieved against the odds. The author's interviews with the last three surviving Rough Riders (the last of whom died in 1975) are a unique research source for this book.The Boys of '98 is destined to become the standard work on its fascinating subject...brings vividly to life the era of cigars, brandy, starched collars, straight razors, cotton bloomers, bolt-action rifles, and sepia photographs of impossibly fresh-faced soldiers with their campaign hats cocked to one side. The book is unforgettable -- and remarkable -- timely remembrance of things past. -- Loren D. EstlemanThe Boys of '98 brims with humanity. Dale Walker has made Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders come alive. -- B. Byron Price, ExecutiveDirector, Buffalo Bill Historical Center