In 1928-29, Theodore Roosevelt’s two eldest sons went on a swashbuckling global adventure to prove the existence of the giant panda — a creature almost mythical to the Western world at the time.
The Roosevelt expedition marked a turning point, shifting scientific attitudes from hunting rare species for study to the birth of modern conservation ethics. After their mission, which culminated in the killing and collecting of pandas for Western museums, both the explorers and the scientific community began to reconsider such practices, fostering early movements to protect endangered species.
In this book, the expedition is rendered as a true-life survival epic, highlighting encounters with dangerous landscapes, blizzards, robbers, disease, and deep personal losses — making it read with the intensity of a thriller while maintaining historical accuracy.
While focusing on the pursuit of the giant panda, the story also provides observations on the explorers’ cultural encounters in China and Tibet, and the evolving ethics of scientific exploration.
And, rather than glorifying its protagonists, author Nathalia Holt presents the Roosevelt brothers as vulnerable and morally conflicted, ultimately haunted by the ecological and ethical implications of their success. Their regret and the expedition’s unintended legacy for conservation give the book uncommon emotional resonance.