This is a Premier Program. All residents of Rancho Mirage and donors who contribute $100 or more annually to the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory Foundation can take advantage of priority seating for Premier programs by arriving early.

In The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt, O’Keefe gives readers a dazzling and lyrical look at one of America’s most significant presidents as we’ve never seen him before, revealing the five extraordinary yet unsung women who were influential in Theodore Roosevelt’s life and not only opened the door to the American Century but pushed Roosevelt through it. These incredible women include his mother, Mittie, a witty and decisive Southern belle; his college sweetheart and vivacious first wife, Alice, who steered her beau away from science and towards politics; his older sister, Bamie, who became her brother’s key political strategist and advisor; his younger sister, Conie, who served as his press secretary before the role existed; and Edith, Roosevelt’s childhood playmate and second wife, who elevated the role of presidential spouse to an American institution.

Edward F. O’Keefe is the CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. He previously spent two decades in broadcast and digital media at ABC News, CNN, and NowThis, during which time he received a Primetime Emmy Award for his work with Anthony Bourdain, two Webby Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and a George Foster Peabody Award for ABC’s coverage of 9/11. A former fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, he graduated with honors from Georgetown University.

The first 200 attendees will receive a free copy of The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt

This series is sponsored by the Rancho Mirage Writers Festival Foundation and is made possible by a generous gift from Jordan Schnitzer, funded by the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation.