Book excerpt: "Besides being one of our greatest presidents, Roosevelt stands alone as a conservationist, a visionary when it came to the protection and preservation of America's natural resources, and an author."--Library Journal There have been few hunters as daring, as powerful, and as articulate as our twenty-sixth president, Theodore Roosevelt. From his ranching years in the Dakota Territory to the famous African adventures, Roosevelt's tales are unparalleled stories of the hunt. The best of them are collected here. Of Roosevelt's many volumes of hunting and exploration, two reader favorites have always been Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail and African Game Trails, both excerpted here. During his ranching years, Roosevelt ranged far and wide, and his African trips were also famously bold. In all his expeditions, Roosevelt reveals in detail hunts that were incredible journeys of both pursuit and discovery, for wherever he went in the outdoors he assumed the dual roles of hunter and naturalist. The hunts range from upland birds and waterfowl to prized big game animals like elk, bear, and sheep amid lofty peaks. There are goat pursuits among ice-glazed mountain spires, and close encounters with grizzlies in the black timber. He survives lion charges and buffalo attacks, and stumbles on elephants.