The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War

In 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt dispatched Secretary of War William Taft, his gun-toting daughter Alice and a gaggle of congressmen on a mission to Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea. There, they would quietly forge a series of agreements that divided up Asia. At the time, Roosevelt was bully-confident about America's future on the continent. But these secret pacts lit the fuse that would, decades later, result in a number of devastating wars: WWII, the Korean War, and the communist revolution in China.

One hundred years later, James Bradley retraces that epic voyage and discovers the remarkable truth about America's vast imperial past - and its world-shaking consequences. Full of fascinating characters and brilliantly told, THE IMPERIAL CRUISE will forever reshape the way we understand U.S. history.

“PRAISE FORTHE IMPERIAL CRUISE: "Incendiary...[ The Imperial Cruise ] is startling enough to reshape conventional wisdom about Roosevelt's presidency."”

PRAISE FOR THE IMPERIAL CRUISE: "Incendiary...[The Imperial Cruise] is startling enough to reshape conventional wisdom about Roosevelt's presidency." -- New York Times "A provocative study...What is fascinating about Bradley's reconstruction of a largely neglected aspect of Roosevelt's legacy is the impact that his racial theories and his obsession with personal and national virility had on his diplomacy. Engrossing and revelatory, The Imperial Cruise is revisionist history at its best." -- New York Times Book Review "[Bradley's] ingenious narrative thread is to track an across-the-pacific 1905 goodwill voyage by Roosevelt's emissaries...[his indictment of Roosevelt] raises tantalizing questions." -- American History "For readers under the impression that history is the story of good guys and bad guys...this book could be useful medicine." -- USA Today "A page-turner." -- Associated Press

James Bradley is the author of the NYT bestsellers Flyboys and Flags of Our Fathers and the son of one of the men who raised the American flag on Iwo Jima. He lives in New York.

In 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt dispatched Secretary of War William Taft, his gun-toting daughter Alice and a gaggle of congressmen on a mission to Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea. There, they would quietly forge a series of agreements that divided up Asia. At the time, Roosevelt was bully-confident about America's future on the continent. But these secret pacts lit the fuse that would, decades later, result in a number of devastating wars: WWII, the Korean War, and the communist revolution in China.One hundred years later, James Bradley retraces that epic voyage and discovers the remarkable truth about America's vast imperial past - and its world-shaking consequences. Full of fascinating characters and brilliantly told, THE IMPERIAL CRUISE will forever reshape the way we understand U.S. history.

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