AN  INTIMATE BIOGRAPHY: Author William Thayer was a Harvard classmate of TR. He states he never voted for a Republican President and did not agree with a number of TR’s policies  but that he had a friendship with TR throughout his life. He interjects a good deal of opinions into his writings as he tries to explain what he witnesses in TR and the social moods of his time. He does make at least one error of fact when he gives an opinion about the 1902 Anthracite Coal strike. General John M. Schofield was going to play a part in the coal strike that Thayer should have know about or at least he did not consider. This error tells me that his access to TR was not super close and that some of his other opinions may be over stated. With the proviso stated I must say Thayer is an excellent writer and the closing of this book is well worth the read. He earnestly implores future generations to look closely at the life of TR because of the lessons of public folly and wisdom of a man that willed to be honest and make the world a little better where ever he had an opportunity. It is possible to sense the remorse he feels for not fully realizing the impact that TR’s life had in building up this nation until about 1914 when World War One started.