Matt Braun's Spur Award-winning Dakota tells the compelling story of Teddy Roosevelt's foray into rugged Dakota Territory. Stunned by a Valentine's Day telegram, Teddy Roosevelt reaches his Manhattan home just in time to watch death first claim his mother and then his wife on that dark day in 1884. Abandoning a promising political career, 25-year-old Teddy seeks the healing solace of the Dakota Bad Lands. After bagging grizzly and elk, decking a gun-waving giant, and building two thriving cattle ranches, Teddy soon finds himself in the sights of a deadly rival.