The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

“Deep in the Brazilian rain forest, he recognized the approach of death when he saw it, and it now hung unmistakably over Theodore Roosevelt.”

The brutal conditions on the expedition almost cost the former president his life. He was battling malaria and an infection, with a high fever causing him to come in and out of consciousness. Throughout the book, Millard suggests that Roosevelt’s Conceptions of Masculinity and Endurance made him willing to sacrifice his life if necessary to ensure the success of the expedition.

“And as president of the United States for nearly eight years, he had been at the apex of power and prestige. Now, for the first time in his life, he was a pariah, and he was painfully aware of it.”

After his third party bid for the presidency in 1912 cost the Republican Party the election, Roosevelt was condemned by his upper-class peers. Whenever he had confronted setbacks previously, Roosevelt embarked on outdoor adventures and exploration. As a result, he was amenable to the idea of a South American expedition. Millard thus presents the expedition as holding a strong emotional appeal to Roosevelt as well as a scientific one.

“The expedition’s tentative plan was to start in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then travel by boat northward up the length of the continent along well-known navigable rivers to the Amazon, giving Roosevelt a chance to observe a wide range of landscapes and animal life in relative comfort.”

It was this originally tame and safe itinerary that the American Museum of Natural History supported. The planners of the trip prepared for this type of expedition as well. When the itinerary was changed to explore an unknown river, with all the danger that entailed, the expedition proved to be woefully unprepared, introducing The Challenges and Achievements of Exploration.