"No more dramatic courtroom scene has ever been enacted," reported the Syracuse Herald in 1915 as it covered "the greatest libel suit in history." Teddy Roosevelt had vilified William Barnes, the leader of the Republican Party, for political corruption. Barnes responded by suing Roosevelt. The spectacle of a former president taking the witness stand to defend himself in a lawsuit captured the attention of the nation. The week the colonel spent on the witness stand electrified the entire country, as he revealed hidden secrets of the American political system and then endured a merciless cross-examination. This was Roosevelt's final fight to defend his political legacy. Meanwhile, Barnes had his own ambitions, planning to run for the United States Senate. The hopes of both men depended on the outcome of this trial. Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense, by the coauthors of the bestselling Lincoln's Last Trial, presents a rollicking snapshot of the American legal system in a nation standing on the precipice of the Great War, as the beloved former president fought to protect his legacy.