The many facets of Theodore Roosevelt’s life seem to lend themselves to a limitless supply of books.

There are TR books that focus on his entire life, his rise to becoming president, his presidency, his post-presidency; his time as a Rough Rider, as a New York City police commissioner, as an assistant naval secretary, as a cowboy/rancher, as a politician, as a father, as a child, as a third-party Bull Moose candidate, as a hunter, as an aging adventurer exploring the River of Doubt, etc.

Susan Berfield opts to look at TR’s trustbusting policies countered against the trustbuilding work of J.P. Morgan in her excellent book, “The Hour of Fate: Theodore Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan and the Battle to Transform American Capitalism.”

Berfield takes what could have been a dull study of late 19th and early 20th century government involvement in finance and capitalism and makes it a compelling read.

She never forgets the personalities of the title figures nor anyone else in the book from labor organizers to high officials to captains of industry to the regular folks affected by their actions. She introduces each one then reveals their personalities as the story unfolds. She also presents wonderfully detailed but concise biographies of both TR and Morgan up to the moment when their paths crossed.

She tells the story of how Morgan and other financiers expected the president and government to stay out of their way. They were men used to doing whatever their money, machinations and leverage allowed them to do.

Until Roosevelt became president.

Even though they crossed one another as adversaries, TR and Morgan often needed each other to “save” the nation from coal strikes to economic panics.

While Berfield tells a mesmerizing story, she never forgets to instruct on the early days of the balancing act between government regulation and capitalism. A majestic study in personality, politics and policies that still echo today.