Hunting Teddy Roosevelt

Available Now

Order here: Regal House | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

It’s 1909, and Teddy Roosevelt is leaving office in a funk. Much of what he had hoped to accomplish as president remains undone and his controversial decision to follow George Washington’s example and not to run for a third term now seems like the biggest mistake of his life. But he leaves in spectacular fashion—assembling the largest safari ever undertaken and leading it on a year-long expedition through East and Central Africa. His account, African Game Trails, becomes an international bestseller. But it only tells part of the story. HUNTING TEDDY ROOSEVELT tells the rest.

Roosevelt is not only hunting in Africa, he’s being hunted. James Pierpont Morgan, the most powerful private citizen of his era, wants Roosevelt out of politics permanently. Afraid that the trust-busting president’s return to power will be disastrous for American business, he plants a killer on the safari staff to arrange a fatal accident while the former president is out of touch with the outside world. Roosevelt narrowly escapes the killer’s traps while leading two hundred and sixty-four men on foot through the savannahs, jungles and semi-deserts of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo and Sudan.

The safari is also a time of discovery, personal and political. In Africa, Roosevelt encounters Sudanese slave traders, Belgian colonial atrocities and German preparations for war. In his personal life, he struggles to help his teenage son and safari companion deal with the Roosevelt family curse of depression and alcoholism. He also reconnects with a childhood sweetheart, now a globe-trotting newspaper reporter, sent by Roosevelt’s enemy, publisher William Randolph Hearst, to chronicle the safari adventures and uncover the former president’s future political plans. Defying Hearst’s instructions and resisting a rekindled chemistry with Roosevelt, she persuades her former love to return to politics and use the power of the American presidency to stop colonial atrocities in the Congo and prevent war in Europe.

Back in the U.S., Roosevelt begins his campaign for president, but Morgan still plots to stop him. Can Roosevelt’s dynamic vision for the future of America, Europe and Africa survive the machinations of one of the world’s wealthiest men?

Praise for Hunting Teddy Roosevelt:

“Hunting Teddy Roosevelt by Jim Ross is that most valued of historical fiction — a well-written novel with great characters and a great story, and we also learn about an important period. Imagine a fascinating nonfiction book that the reader doesn’t even know is nonfiction. It’s the trick of good novelist.”
– Tim Sandlin, author of the GroVont Quartet

“Having enjoyed Edmund Morris’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, I was delighted to encounter Hunting Teddy Roosevelt, Jim Ross’s fine novel, based on TR’s African journey after keeping his promise not to run for a third term in the 1908 election. This is engrossingly plausible fiction, drawn from historical fact. Was someone trying to kill the still-electable and hugely popular Roosevelt while he hunted big game for New York’s American Museum of Natural History? Very possibly. Was there a chaste love interest? Who knows? Wonderful too was the subplot about Kermit, Roosevelt’s son, who accompanied him. Ross’s captivating, suspenseful story may not have actually happened, but it certainly could have and that’s the point.”
– J.R. Lankford, author of The Jesus Thief thrillers

“A thrilling blend of historical fact and fictional adventure, Hunting Teddy Roosevelt takes the reader on safari with ex-president Theodore Roosevelt as he pursues big game while contemplating an unprecedented third term. But his African exploits may well doom his political career. He encounters predators more ferocious than lions and rhinoceroses, including an assassin with a personal grudge hired by determined political foes. And when an old flame turned muckraking journalist joins the safari, Roosevelt faces a danger even more threatening to his political career: a ruined reputation. With beautifully written detail, author Jim Ross seamlessly chronicles the hunt, draws attention to the political conflicts and human atrocities of the time, and paints a lush picture of the African wilderness, while presenting Roosevelt as both larger than life and touchingly, vulnerably human.”
– Susan Coventry, author of The Queen’s Daughter

“Hunting Teddy Roosevelt by James A. Ross is a fascinating piece of historical fiction that follows the adventures of former US president Teddy Roosevelt in Africa as he contends with danger and the beginning rumblings of war. Maggie, a journalist working for Randolph Hearst, and the childhood sweetheart of Roosevelt, joins him on safari to chronicle his travels and try to uncover his future political plans. But Roosevelt has more than dangerous wildlife to worry about, as some powerful business owners decide to arrange for an “accident” on his journey to stop the President from ever returning to US politics. Ross portrays the character of Teddy Roosevelt in a wonderfully, warm manner in this exciting tale which details his wondrous travels and dangerous encounters through deserts, savannahs, and jungles. Readers will instantly be engrossed in the period setting and the taut, action-filled narrative. The novel is populated with a variety of interesting characters in Roosevelt’s inner circle who all have their own tales, hidden motivations and personality flaws which are laid bare throughout the trip. Full of impressive historical detail and wonderfully realised locations, this is a thrilling adventure based upon historical events that is written so convincingly you’ll struggle to disentangle fact from fiction!”
– Book Excellence

Press

Reviews

“An impressive amalgam of historical astuteness and dramatic thrills.”
— Kirkus

“A taut, exciting thriller of a tale full of wonderful episodes on the African plains and in the steamy, critter filled jungles... [filled with] sudden pulse pounding action.”
— Historical Fiction Reviews

“Hunting Teddy Roosevelt by James Ross is a clean read with wholesome adventures that I would highly recommend for readers of all ages who enjoy historical fiction.”
— Reader’s Favorite

“In addition to being a page-turner, ‘Hunting Teddy Roosevelt’ is populated by characters you can’t help but root for.”
— Jackson Hole News and Guide

“Both the time period itself and the dangerous venue are filled with foreboding. Adding Teddy Roosevelt, a force of nature in his own right, makes a good book even better.”
— Historical Novel Society

“I loved this book! It was impossible to put down.”
— Lovely Things NC

“History and fiction blend together to create the perfect opportunity for adventure and intrigue in Hunting Teddy Roosevelt by James A. Ross.”
— The Book Connection

“Hunting Teddy Roosevelt is a fun and smart historical thriller that features some of history’s greatest characters.”
— Foreword Reviews

“Mr. Ross really brought to life this story with engaging people and story.”
— Cheryl’s Book Nook

“Jim Ross certainly delivered…”
— San Francisco Book Review

“Reading this well-crafted, smartly paced novel is like eating a bowl of salted peanuts—hard to stop.”
— Peace Corps Worldwide