James Tertius de Kay, Roosevelt’s Navy: The Education of a Warrior President

Abstract

James Tertius de Kay’s effort with Roosevelt’s Navy: The Education of a Warrior
President has produced a mixed result that ranges from disappointment with the style
and format to approval for its content and argument. The author of several books on
historical figures written for young readers, de Kay’s manner of presenting this
history resembles the young adult genre. The chapters are short, some three pages
long, and the content is written in the simple language of youth. Complex ideas, to
include illicit relationships between adults, are presented with no hint of
sophistication. Additionally, simple cause and effect events are presented, absent
without nuance. One comes away with the sense that you are reading an instalment
of a ‘young heroes’ series of books, and that is disappointing because some of the
content is actually quite interesting and insightful despite the fact that no primary
sources are used aside from Roosevelt’s personal letters.