The Crowded Hour

A NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2019 SELECTION The dramatic story of the most famous regiment in American history: the Rough Riders,a motley group of soldiers led by Theodore Rooseveltwhose daring exploits marked the beginning of American imperialism in the 20th century. When America declared war on Spain in 1898the US Army had just 26000 menspread around the countryΓÇöhardly an army at all. In desperationthe Rough Riders were born. A unique group of volunteersranging from Ivy League athletes to Arizona cowboys and led by Theodore Rooseveltthey helped secure victory in Cuba in a series of grippingbloody fights across the island. Roosevelt called their charge in the Battle of San Juan Hill his ΓÇ£crowded hourΓÇ¥ΓÇöa turning point in his lifeone that led directly to the White House. ΓÇ£The instant I received the orderΓÇ¥ wrote RooseveltΓÇ£I sprang on my horse and then my ΓÇÿcrowded hourΓÇÖ began.ΓÇ¥ As The Crowded Hour revealsit was a turning point for America as welluniting the country and ushering in a new era of global power. Both a portrait of these menfew of whom were traditional soldiersand of the Spanish-American War itselfThe Crowded Hour dives deep into the daily lives and struggles of Roosevelt and his regiment. Using diarieslettersand memoirsRisen illuminates a disproportionately influential moment in American history: a war of only six monthsΓÇÖ time that dramatically altered the United StatesΓÇÖ standing in the world. In this brilliantenlightening narrativethe Rough RidersΓÇöand a country on the brink of a new global dominanceΓÇöare brought fully and gloriously to life.