{"id":137397,"date":"2021-06-29T11:43:35","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T16:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=137397"},"modified":"2021-09-26T09:47:36","modified_gmt":"2021-09-26T14:47:36","slug":"the-pigskin-library-or-trs-philosophy-of-vacation-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/leisure\/books\/the-pigskin-library-or-trs-philosophy-of-vacation-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pigskin Library: Or, TR’s Philosophy of Vacation Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I have always taken books with me when on hunting and exploring trips. In such cases the literature should be reasonably heavy, in order that it may last. \u2014Theodore Roosevelt<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After his presidency ended in 1909, Theodore Roosevelt decided he needed a nice long vacation \u2014 away from the United States. He understood his own tendencies quite well; had he stayed, it would have been nigh near impossible for him to resist meddling in his successor’s administration. TR wanted to keep his hands on the levers of power and stay front and center of the news cycle, and he knew it. Since he desired to give William Taft room to operate as his own man, Roosevelt was thus determined to get far away from it all: he set his sights on taking an extended African safari.  <\/p>\n

There was one particular challenge that required a novel<\/em> solution: as an incurable, obsessive reader, how would Roosevelt transport a library of books to the African plains and jungles to sate his voracious appetite? He of course couldn\u2019t just do without. As Thomas Bailey and Katherine Joslin write in Theodore Roosevelt: A Literary Life<\/em><\/a>, Roosevelt possessed \u201ca true, deep need to always be reading books.\u201d (Oh, how I can relate!)  <\/p>\n

The answer to this vexing problem? The Pigskin Library.<\/p>\n

Roosevelt and his son Kermit picked out around 60 books \u2014 \u201cthose which, for one reason or another, we thought we should like to take on this particular trip\u201d \u2014 and had them bound in pig\u2019s leather. This would not only make them more durable for transport to and through Africa, but protect the pages from the kind of \u201cblood, sweat, gun oil, dust and ashes\u201d that might arise whilst on safari. Whereas \u201cordinary bindings either vanished or became loathsome,\u201d TR explained, \u201cpigskin merely grew to look as a well-used saddle looks.\u201d <\/p>\n

These books were housed in a \u201cspecially built aluminum and brass container, weighing sixty pounds, portable by one native gentleman.\u201d (Thankfully, with an e-reader of any kind, your own multi-volume vacation library could weigh under a pound and slip easily into your luggage or backpack, no literary sherpas required.) <\/p>\n

Books, for Roosevelt, were not sacred objects. The process of binding them in pigskin necessitated an indelicate surgery of removing the old, original bindings. Superfluous white space amongst the books\u2019 pages was cut away as well \u2014 the more compact and lightweight they could be, the better, of course. As Roosevelt writes, the books \u201cwere for use, not ornament.\u201d The man\u2019s practicality shined through even when it came to his reading habits. <\/p>\n

For nearly an entire year, Kermit and Theodore traversed the African continent, hunting game big and small and reading along the way at any and every opportunity; TR had a knack for taking advantage of the possibilities to be found in spare moments<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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I almost always had some volume with me, either in my saddle-pocket or in the cartridge-bag. Often my reading would be done while resting under a tree at noon, perhaps beside the carcass of a beast I had killed or else while waiting for camp to be pitched. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

When it came to the type of literature the Roosevelts packed, it was as wide-ranging as their far-flung interests. Classic novels, new novels, history, philosophy, natural science, travel and adventure memoirs \u2014 you name it, it was part of the Pigskin Library. A note Teddy made about the selection process, in which he discerned which books to take and which to leave, offers a note of advice that any reader would be well-served to pay close attention to: <\/p>\n

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Let us be modest about dogmatizing overmuch. . . . There are many thousands of good books; some of them meet one man\u2019s needs, some another\u2019s; and any list of such books should simply be accepted as meeting a given individual’s needs under given condition of time and surroundings.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In short, read what interests you and what you\u2019re drawn to. That mantra was a defining feature not only of TR\u2019s criteria for selecting travel books, but his overall reading philosophy<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

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It is, however, interesting to note that little tidbit from this article\u2019s opening quote: when it comes to the books you take on trips, \u201cthe literature should be reasonably heavy<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n

What was behind this recommendation? <\/p>\n

It arose in part from Teddy\u2019s belief that travel was the perfect time to dive into substantive, challenging books. If those are the only type you bring, and thus your only options for literary entertainment, he explained, you effectively force yourself into choosing to read heartier fare, \u201cas you never would if surrounded by less formidable authors in your own library.\u201d <\/p>\n

The other factor came down to a simple numbers game: if Roosevelt had only packed fluffy, quick-reading material, he\u2019d have blasted through it all too quickly. He wanted to bring books with him that he could chew on and wrestle with \u2014 lengthy, meaty books which would provide enough cumulative reading hours to sustain him over his trip. <\/p>\n

In other words, TR didn\u2019t want to get through his stack too quickly. It\u2019s definitely happened to me while traveling; I pick something especially easy to read, only to get through it while en route and then I have to buy more books when I arrive. It\u2019s certainly not the worst problem, but I could\u2019ve benefitted from better planning.  <\/p>\n

(Funny enough, Roosevelt still didn\u2019t bring enough books on the journey. At one point he had to restock his supply, adding the likes of Miguel Cervantes\u2019 Don Quixote<\/em>, Michel de Montaigne\u2019s essays, Charles Darwin\u2019s Voyage of the Beagle<\/em>, Aldous Huxley\u2019s essays, and more.) <\/p>\n

TR contrasts the kind of \u201creasonably heavy\u201d books he packed with what he planned to consume upon returning home: \u201cwhen you do reach the journey’s end you grasp with eager appetite at old magazines, or at the lightest of literature.\u201d <\/p>\n

In our modern era, \u201cbeach reads\u201d almost always refer to light, easy-reading material. Thrillers, romances, purely entertaining yarns. Roosevelt took the opposite approach, saving the light stuff for when he got home. Perhaps, intentionally or inadvertently, he had recognized the power of paired contrasts<\/a>: lighter life + heavier books made for an even more rejuvenating trip. <\/p>\n

Consider this tactic when embarking on your next vacation. Will you bring along a stack of Lee Child thrillers? No need to feel guilty if so. But perhaps consider TR\u2019s approach to vacation reading: bring a big stack of books, sure, but make it \u201creasonably heavy.\u201d Give your brain some stimulation while you\u2019re relaxing on the beach or lying in your tent at night. And don\u2019t worry one bit about your travel library getting soiled \u2014 be it dirt, sand, rain, kid puke, or zebra blood. At least if you\u2019ve put a protective cover on your phone \u2014 of pigskin, or otherwise. <\/p>\n

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To get a sense for the authors and books that TR was reading and thinking about while on safari in Africa, peruse this list of what was included in his travel library: <\/p>\n