Former Baxter ranger to discuss latest book
PRESQUE ISLE — The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host Andrew Vietze — the writer and Katahdin-area park ranger whose latest book explores how a 19th century Aroostook County woodsman “toughened up” future president Theodore Roosevelt — as the next speaker in its 2011-12 University Distinguished Lecturer Series.
Andrew Vietze 
will talk about the adventures the 26th president had in the Maine wilderness with his mentor and lifelong friend, Maine guide William Wingate Sewall, when he delivers his talk, “William Sewall and Teddy Roosevelt: How a Maine Guide Inspired a Man Who Would Be President,” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6, in the Campus Center. The public is invited to attend a reception and book-signing event to be held in the Alumni Room immediately following his lecture.
Vietze spends six months of each year working in the Katahdin region and the rest of his time penning everything from travel guides to magazine articles to his first novel. The author of five books, Vietze will speak about his latest publication, “Becoming Teddy Roosevelt: How a Maine Guide Inspired America’s 26th President,” which recently won a silver medal at the Independent Publisher Book Awards in New York and was honored by the Maine State Legislature.
The former managing editor of Down East: The Magazine of Maine, he’s written for a wide variety of magazines and online publications. Two of his pieces for Down East have won awards for feature writing from the International Regional Magazine Association.
Vietze resides in Appleton with his wife and two sons.
The event is free. For more information, contact the University’s Community and Media Relations Office at 768-9452. For more information about Vietze, visit www.andrewvietze.com.
