From rough frontier soldier to capable politician, Alexander Oswald Brodie earned a reputation as a solid, honorable character in American history. Brodie's most noteworthy claim to fame was his service as a Rough Rider alongside future president Theodore Roosevelt, who considered Brodie a lifelong friend. He later delved into politics, governing Arizona as it transformed from a lawless peripheral territory to the forty-eighth state in the Union. The stories of Brodie's personal life, from the tragic deaths of his young wife and daughter, to the happiness he found later on, take shape to make...