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	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Annelie Geissler
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Politics & government

THE BEAST IN THE CLOUDS

Nathalia Holt

The Roosevelt Brothers' Deadly Quest to Find the Mythical Giant Panda

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls, this is a riveting history of a 1929 expedition by Theodore Roosevelt's sons to China that introduced the giant panda to the West.

In the late 1920s, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and his younger brother Kermit wanted fame and glory, apart from the family spotlight. They were seeking the "empty spots" on the maps, the areas that had yet to be explored and described by Westerners. From these remote places, they hoped to bring back the animals that lived there, to aid the scientific community's understanding of taxonomy, biological diversity, and its relatively recent theories of evolution. The animal they most wanted to bring back was an elusive black and white bear that, in the time this book takes place, was more legend than scientific fact.

In THE BEAST IN THE CLOUDS, Nathalia Holt tells the full story of this expedition into China's Himalayan wilderness for the first time. Drawing upon personal letters and journals, firsthand interviews with conservation scientists, and archival materials that have previously been inaccessible to any other historian or journalist, Holt has been able to document the 1929 expedition in unprecedented, captivating detail.

In addition to bringing pandas to the West, the Roosevelt brothers' far-flung adventure left a legacy that reverberates in our current conservation efforts. By telling the thrilling tale of this important exhibition, Holt shines a light on the importance of scientific research across the globe in biodiversity, anti-hunting and poaching initiatives, and its relevance in the fight against climate change.

Nathalia Holt, Ph.D. is the New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls, The Queens of Animation, and Cured. She has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Slate, Popular Science, PBS, and Time. She is a former fellow at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard University.

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Book Published 2025-07-01 by One Signal

Comments

An astonishing true story of adversity and ecological adventure. Holt puts readers inside the boots and minds of the Roosevelt brothers and their small cadre of explorers as they navigate their inner terrain of ambition, regret, and redemption.

The Beast in the Clouds evokes many of the sights, sounds--and indeed the pains and fevers--of a natural history museum expedition. Anyone interested in the romance of exploration will find this to be of interest.

In 1929, Ted and Kermit Roosevelt, sons of former President Theodore Roosevelt, led an expedition to China in search of the elusive giant panda bear. Sponsored by the Chicago Field Museum, the mission's goal was to bring back a complete specimen for taxidermy and display. As Holt (Wise Gals, 2022) deftly recounts, for both the brothers and those who accompanied them, the trip ended up changing their lives. Their accomplishments were great, but the fallout from the expedition would be nearly catastrophic for the panda, as it quickly became a target for big game hunters around the world. Hunters' use of the Roosevelts' published maps to find the animal was especially devastating for Kermit, who became an ardent conservationist in the years that followed, during which he also struggled with addiction. Holt draws on the Roosevelts' book, Trailing the Giant Panda (1929), reports from other expedition members, interviews, and media coverage to tell grand tale of adventure and high drama. Both stirring and tragic, this is an excellently told story about an overlooked segment of history. Highly recommended for book clubs.

Far more than an exquisitely rendered account of a quest to track the giant panda...Holt's storytelling is powerful and timeless.

A story of a star-crossed scientific expedition by two sons of Theodore Roosevelt.

Valuable, revelatory, and contagiously page-turning: Holt has reconstructed a 1929 Himalayan expedition in new, immersive detail to show how proving the existence of the giant pandaonly to create a mania for studying and killing the specieschanged the lives of the two eldest sons of the original Teddy Bear, President Theodore Roosevelt, forever altering the course of wildlife conservation.

Readers will vanish, along with the Roosevelt brothers, into a world of hidden dangers and astonishing delights. The panda lurks in every corner of Nathalia Holt's The Beast in the Clouds, an exquisitely crafted book packed with adventure, mystery, and thorny dilemmas about what it means to hold all life sacred.

The Beast in the Clouds is more than just a great historical narrative. It's a compelling story about the folly of man and the beauty of nature in a time of mystery.

A beautifully crafted story of science, discovery, and adventure, The Beast in the Clouds follows Ted and Kermit Roosevelt on their nearly fatal search for the legendary giant panda. Tracing the brother's journey through a China torn by warlordism, Nathalia Holt captures with a rare historical sensitivity both the immediacy of that moment and the personal demons that brought these sons of one of America's most famous presidents to the Himalayas.

A wonderfully wrought, compelling and provocative account. Holt skillfully weaves together the Roosevelts' own histories, that of the natural world around them, and the exacting price of their journey's success.

Holt knows how to tell a mesmerizing story, and with The Beast in the Clouds she has combined her careful research and extraordinarily graceful writing with a little-known, endlessly fascinating story. The result is a beautiful and powerful book.