The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War

A New York Times–bestselling author reveals the true story of America's secret mission that changed the fate of Asia and the history of the world.Following the success of his two World War II bestsellers—Flags of Our Fathers and Flyboys—James Bradley began to wonder what the real catalyst was for the Pacific War. What he discovered will forever change the way you think about American history and the origins of war and empire in Asia.In 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt dispatched Secretary of War William Howard Taft, his own daughter Alice, and a team of congressmen on a mission to Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea with the intent of forging an agreement to divide up Asia. This clandestine and wholly unconstitutional pact lit the fuse that would decades later result in a number of devastating wars: World War II, the Korean War, and the Communist revolution in China.In 2005 James Bradley traveled in the wake of Roosevelt's mission and came face-to-face with the remarkable truth about America's imperial ambitions, a story that has been effectively erased from our history textbooks."An important contribution to a realistic understanding of America's history, good and bad, and the views that other cultures, particularly in Asia, hold toward the United States. It also serves as a powerful reminder that the course we choose today is influenced by choices made long before, and will have its own influence, for good or ill, on the world that comes after us. We ignore such lessons at our own peril." —BookPage Read more