When Bret Baier sat down with his colleagues on The Five to talk about his new book, he did more than promote a biography — he issued a challenge to a country that too often mistakes concession for virtue. Baier explained that To Rescue the American Spirit: Teddy Roosevelt and the Birth of a Superpower grew out of a conviction that Americans need reminders of real leadership, not the hand-wringing and moral preening we see from elites today.
The book, arriving on October 21, 2025 from Mariner Books, is positioned as more than history; it’s a manual for reclaiming the backbone of our republic. Baier lays out Roosevelt’s life as proof that a bold presidency—rooted in duty, courage, and clear-eyed patriotism—can transform a nation.
Baier’s central point is simple and unashamedly American: Roosevelt’s blend of personal grit, public reform, and unapologetic national pride offers a model the country desperately needs. From Rough Rider grit to the fight for the Panama Canal, Baier reminds listeners that strength and principle are not mutually exclusive.
He’s not just talking from a podium — Baier is hitting the road, bringing the message to presidential libraries and conservative audiences on a national tour that includes events at the FDR Library and appearances at Nixon and Reagan institutions. Those stops show this is meant to be a movement of ideas, not a boutique history lesson for coastal elites.
Let’s be blunt: the left has spent decades trying to rewrite American greatness into a series of grievances and guilt trips, and too many in the media have played along. Baier — a bestselling author and veteran political anchor who has made a career telling the truth the powerful prefer to avoid — gives conservatives a thoroughly researched rebuttal to that narrative and a celebration of what made America exceptional.
This book matters because ideas matter. When leaders retreat from conviction and public life becomes a contest of virtue-signaling instead of service, the American experiment grows fragile. Reading about Roosevelt’s courage and consequential action is the kind of civic education that steelworkers, small-business owners, veterans, and parents can use to fight back against cultural surrender.
If you believe America can and should be great, Baier’s book is a timely shot of clarity: history proves strength works, and character still matters. Buy it, read it, and bring its lessons into your family conversations and local communities — we need leaders who build, not bureaucrats who bow.
