When most people think of Theodore Roosevelt, they think of the twenty-sixth President of the United States. Taking office in 1901 at the age of 42 after the assassination of William McKinley, he is the youngest president in American history. As President, Roosevelt is known for his work in the Progressive Movement, completing the Panama Canal, and negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War. However, while many remember him as the politician, Theodore Roosevelt was also an accomplished natural historian, touring in Africa and Europe and leading a major expedition to the Amazon jungles.

To honor this remarkable man, we've dedicated ournewest iTunes U collectionto him. OuriTunes U provider page, which offers free access to a selection of BHL books organized according to theme, previously consisted of 8 collections, includingExtinct SpeciesandThe Curious and the Bizarre. We're thrilled to add theTheodore Roosevelt collection, containing 18 titles by Roosevelt, to our repertoire. To celebrate this release, we're featuring one of the books as our Book of the Week:African Games Trails(1910).


Roosevelt's expedition to Africa in 1909 was a major endeavor, conducted in large part to collect specimens for the Smithsonian and American Museum of Natural History. During the venture, Roosevelt and his team killed or trapped more than 11,397 animals, ranging from insects to the 512 big game animals he collected. Roosevelt also used the expedition to interact with many native people and local leaders. A detailed account of the expedition, including descriptions of the flora and fauna he collected, are presented in his bookAfrican Game Trails, published in 1910.

The work includes photographs taken by Roosevelt's son, Kermit (to whom it is dedicated), as well as drawings by Philip R. Goodwin, an American artist best known for illustratingThe Call of the Wild.African Game Trailscontains accounts of such activities as lion hunting on the Kapiti Plains, encounters with the giant rhinoceros of the Lado, and the expedition's trek down the Nile. Some of our favorite illustrations from the title include aherd of buffalogazing with curiosity at the expedition team and alion charging across the plain. A final item of interest worth noting is amapdetailing the expedition's route.

OurTheodore Roosevelt Collectionwill continue to grow as we add more content to BHL. We'll also be introducing more collections in the coming months and welcome any suggestions you may have. Send us your ideas for ouriTunes U projectviaTwitter,Facebook, or ourFeedback page. In the meantime, enjoy ourRooseveltandother iTunes U collectionsand explore all of the images from our Book of the Week inFlickr.