WWTBAM Bored

I am in the process of reading a basic biography of Teddy Roosevelt and I ran across something that I did not know,

i have often run across the point that TR's father paid a substitute (as many wealthy men did) to take his place in the civil War-but with no further context or background.

Turns out that Teddy's mother was from Georgia and during tha late 1850's and through the Civil War several female members of her southern family lived with them and he chose not to split the household on that. Not saying he was right-I just found this interesting context.

However, he did visit several army camps and worked on signing up Union soldiers to a program that would send part of their pay back home to their dependents that were out of a breadwinner or whatever.

I have been on a bit of a Teddy Roosevelt kick ever since we watched 'Elkhorn" which is a TV series loosely based on his time in the North dakota badlands and I ran across an amusing anecdote in his book "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail" which is about that time.

He and his men were engaged in a several day jaunt to catch some outlaws and I wasn't really surprised to read that he brought a book along but I was surprised at the choice he brought along on a dangerous mission.

It was Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" of all things. I guess it might have worked to stop a bullet. I was doubly amused because I was reading it at the time and I am finally approaching the end of it.

Spock wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 29, 2026 10:03 pm

I have been on a bit of a Teddy Roosevelt kick ever since we watched 'Elkhorn" which is a TV series loosely based on his time in the North dakota badlands and I ran across an amusing anecdote in his book "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail" which is about that time.

He and his men were engaged in a several day jaunt to catch some outlaws and I wasn't really surprised to read that he brought a book along but I was surprised at the choice he brought along on a dangerous mission.

It was Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" of all things. I guess it might have worked to stop a bullet. I was doubly amused because I was reading it at the time and I am finally approaching the end of it.

That is a slog. But it probably would stop a bullet (or an arrow).

tlynn78 wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 30, 2026 9:00 am

Spock wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 29, 2026 10:03 pm

I have been on a bit of a Teddy Roosevelt kick ever since we watched 'Elkhorn" which is a TV series loosely based on his time in the North dakota badlands and I ran across an amusing anecdote in his book "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail" which is about that time.

He and his men were engaged in a several day jaunt to catch some outlaws and I wasn't really surprised to read that he brought a book along but I was surprised at the choice he brought along on a dangerous mission.

It was Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" of all things. I guess it might have worked to stop a bullet. I was doubly amused because I was reading it at the time and I am finally approaching the end of it.

That is a slog. But it probably would stop a bullet (or an arrow).

Yeah. I never would have read it-but when I was on a small Louise Erdrich kick a while back. She said every time she read Anna Karenina she was always surprised at how much farming there was in it.

When I get done with it (about 80 pages left) I will have read 3 of 4 main Russian novels (as I count them).

1) Crime and Punishment
2) War and Peace
3) Anna Karenina

This leaves Brothers Karamazov which I will probably try and read next winter.

I may try and work on Solzhenitsyns massive work on the Russian Revolution.