Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Back Bay Books (2010), Edition: Illustrated, 400 pages
Description
Analyzes the multinational conflicts that set the stage for World War II, the Chinese communist revolution, and the Korean War, documenting Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 diplomatic mission in the Pacific through which the United States forged ill-fated covert agreements.
Media reviews
What could have been a clear, sharp revision of the Roosevelt myth is hampered by a clumsy attack... Bradley’s so incensed by Roosevelt’s foreign policies – especially with regards to Japan – that he forgets to organize his thoughts.
Mr. Bradley, the author of “Flags of Our Fathers,” does not simply cite Roosevelt’s egregious talk. He presents this much-ignored aspect of Roosevelt’s thinking with sharp specificity (“I am so angry with that infernal little Cuban republic that I would like to wipe its people off the
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face of the earth,” Roosevelt wrote in 1906) and then goes on to make a much more damaging point, angrily and persuasively connecting Roosevelt’s race-based foreign policy miscalculations in Asia. His thesis in “The Imperial Cruise” is startling enough to reshape conventional wisdom about Roosevelt’s presidency. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member KLmesoftly
Even taken solely on its literary merit, this book rambles and never quite delivers on the implications of the title and preface - that the events of the 1905 Imperial Cruise itself. Behind-the-scenes dealings onboard and at the various ports are alluded to but never developed; based on the tidbits
That must've been Bradley's conclusion, too, because he ends up instead using the cruise as a jumping-off point in his demonization and prosecution of Teddy Roosevelt as the racist warmonger on whom the author ultimately places the blame for the Japanese takeover of Korea and eventual war with the US.
Any thinking person can see immediately that this thesis is incredibly simplistic and logically fallacious, but it's Bradley's methods of supporting his claims that irked me the most. He's sarcastic (Roosevelt is almost always "Ranchman Teddy" or "Rough Rider Teddy," Taft is "Big Bill") and transparently provocative (replacing the modifier "American" with "Aryan" at any opportunity), and his work is riddled with easy-to-check factual errors (p130 states that 90 million people attended the St. Louis World's Fair - at a time when the total US population was a little over 80 million). To top it all off, Roosevelt's supposed motive ("Aryan supremacy" as the only driving force behind US foreign policy in the Far East, again, absurdly simplistic) is supported by undetailed summaries of complex historical events: US takeover of the Phillipines, the St. Louis World's Fair, the annexation of Hawaii, the Opium Wars, US policy towards the Chinese before and after the building of the Trans-Continental railroad, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Russian-Japanese War.
One would need 350 pages to examine ANY of these events, let alone all of them! This is a screed, not a history. And while I don't regret reading it - I was entertained - I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. If one is interested in histories of American racism as applicable to foreign policy, there are many better books to reference.
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the reader does see, the cruise was actually fairly uninteresting. That must've been Bradley's conclusion, too, because he ends up instead using the cruise as a jumping-off point in his demonization and prosecution of Teddy Roosevelt as the racist warmonger on whom the author ultimately places the blame for the Japanese takeover of Korea and eventual war with the US.
Any thinking person can see immediately that this thesis is incredibly simplistic and logically fallacious, but it's Bradley's methods of supporting his claims that irked me the most. He's sarcastic (Roosevelt is almost always "Ranchman Teddy" or "Rough Rider Teddy," Taft is "Big Bill") and transparently provocative (replacing the modifier "American" with "Aryan" at any opportunity), and his work is riddled with easy-to-check factual errors (p130 states that 90 million people attended the St. Louis World's Fair - at a time when the total US population was a little over 80 million). To top it all off, Roosevelt's supposed motive ("Aryan supremacy" as the only driving force behind US foreign policy in the Far East, again, absurdly simplistic) is supported by undetailed summaries of complex historical events: US takeover of the Phillipines, the St. Louis World's Fair, the annexation of Hawaii, the Opium Wars, US policy towards the Chinese before and after the building of the Trans-Continental railroad, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Russian-Japanese War.
One would need 350 pages to examine ANY of these events, let alone all of them! This is a screed, not a history. And while I don't regret reading it - I was entertained - I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. If one is interested in histories of American racism as applicable to foreign policy, there are many better books to reference.
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LibraryThing member bigmoose
Hoping to learn more about this diplomatic mission and understand some historical significance of Roosevelt's interactions in Asia, I came across The Imperial Cruise and thought it would do just what I wanted. To my dismay, I found that the title was only a 'bait and switch' trick. The author seems
I also found it unusual for the author to use derogatory racial nicknames for white Americans (Aryans) and for the Japanese (Japs) even when he was not quoting someone. His overuse of the terms suggested to me an attempt to build his case of how terrible and rascist everyone was. Applying today's enlightened understanding to yesteryear's world does not reflect history, but rather, the author's unhappiness with history.
All in all, I am glad to have read this tale, but wish I had known of the book's ulterior motives and excessive adherence to them; and I may have looked for another account of the diplomatic mission instead.
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far too interested in making his own suppositions about the mission and firing his own shots at Roosevelt (and every other white male in 'turn of the century' America); and in fact, told very little about the cruise, its participants, their interactions and its history. It only formed the backdrop for the author's attacks.I also found it unusual for the author to use derogatory racial nicknames for white Americans (Aryans) and for the Japanese (Japs) even when he was not quoting someone. His overuse of the terms suggested to me an attempt to build his case of how terrible and rascist everyone was. Applying today's enlightened understanding to yesteryear's world does not reflect history, but rather, the author's unhappiness with history.
All in all, I am glad to have read this tale, but wish I had known of the book's ulterior motives and excessive adherence to them; and I may have looked for another account of the diplomatic mission instead.
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LibraryThing member 4bonasa
A biased attack on two former presidents, one a chief justice of the supreme court. Theodore Roosevelt certainly does not deserve his status in American History, but Mr. Bradley's shallow research for the tome failed to uncover the root cause of the intellectual racism of the last half of the 19Th
A discussion of Social Darwinism in the introduction would greatly improve the book, then Mr. Bradley need not resort to hackneyed, revisionist slang, i.e. American Aryans, the "Meiji Restoration" as 'founding fathers', thus tainting our founding documents with late 19Th century racial theory. (Yes, I know they owned slaves. But they did put the highest ideals to paper) I suggest the reader first read "Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany" by Richard Weikartbefore reading Mr. Bradley's book and ignore his unsupported innuendo. If Mr. Bradley quotes his subjects accurately they are sufficient indictment of their character.
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and first half of the 20Th centuries, Social Darwinism. Darwin's theory was used as the basis of social theory postulated by several European, primarily German, philosophers and taught at American Universities. Social Darwinism 'reasoned' the Caucasian (Nordic, Aryan) race was the highest development of the human species. European and American imperialist, Roosevelt,among many, used the Social Darwin theory as justification for exploiting others as a component of American foreign policy. A discussion of Social Darwinism in the introduction would greatly improve the book, then Mr. Bradley need not resort to hackneyed, revisionist slang, i.e. American Aryans, the "Meiji Restoration" as 'founding fathers', thus tainting our founding documents with late 19Th century racial theory. (Yes, I know they owned slaves. But they did put the highest ideals to paper) I suggest the reader first read "Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany" by Richard Weikartbefore reading Mr. Bradley's book and ignore his unsupported innuendo. If Mr. Bradley quotes his subjects accurately they are sufficient indictment of their character.
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LibraryThing member JeffV
I went into this book knowing that America's Imperialist era (mostly the presidencies of Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft) was not our finest hour in terms of foreign policy. We fought and won the Spanish American War, but that just dovetailed into the
The Imperial Cruise is he name for a publicity junket made by then Secretary of War Taft and President Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, Alice. While Alice was somewhat of a celebrity, Taft laid an egg by telling Filipino leaders that their country was "not ready for independence, will not be in the next generation, maybe not two, maybe not for 100 years." This, Bradley contends, was not merely a PR faux pas, but indicative of the racist policy pushed by Roosevelt and others. This policy declares "non-Aryan" races inferior and that they must be subjugated to our rule for their own benefit. This was apparent in our treatment of Native Americans during Manifest Destiny; and just so with the expansionist drive to "follow the sun."
During this period, Japan became our anointed local stooge. Even as Roosevelt was basking in the glow of a Nobel Peace Prize, he was cutting a secret deal with Japan to give them control of Korea. Roosevelt considered the Slavic Russians an inferior breed of white man, and meanwhile Japan was stoked to prove themselves worthy of the notion that they were the "Aryan's of the east." What followed was the Russo-Japanese War, which indeed accomplished several of Roosevelt's diplomatic goals.
In my own visits to the Philippines, I am often struck by the friendliness of the people there. However, that is not true throughout the entire country, and resentment still runs high in such towns as Zamboanga (where we still have forces stationed). In 1895, during the brief period between the end of the Spanish-American War (where the Battle of Manila was fought without casualties to Spain or the US by a prior agreement) and the time the US made it clear they were not there to liberate the country, an independent government arose attempting to base their own ideals on that of the US Constitution. There is still some of that same reverence toward the US even today, but., like Cuba and, to a lesser degree Mexico, it was a botched diplomatic opportunity that haunts us to this day.
It is somewhat difficult to remain objective more than a century later where such behavior results in outrage, and Bradley somewhat struggles with this in underlying references to the actions that two generations later shocked and horrified the world under the Nazi banner. What he does accomplish, however, is stripping some of the greatness off the Roosevelt regime. History remembers him as one of our greatest leaders...but it all seems to be a smoke-and-mirrors PR campaign. In modern times, Roosevelt seems like the kind of guy we'd send an invasion force to depose, not one to immortalize on the side of a mountain.
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atrocity-laden Philippine-American War. I knew some about Taft's atrocious behavior as governor of the Philippines, and I did know that it during this time we awoke a previously-isolationist Japan. James Bradley tells how this fits in with other significant events in history, culminating with Japan instigating our involvement in WWII. The Imperial Cruise is he name for a publicity junket made by then Secretary of War Taft and President Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, Alice. While Alice was somewhat of a celebrity, Taft laid an egg by telling Filipino leaders that their country was "not ready for independence, will not be in the next generation, maybe not two, maybe not for 100 years." This, Bradley contends, was not merely a PR faux pas, but indicative of the racist policy pushed by Roosevelt and others. This policy declares "non-Aryan" races inferior and that they must be subjugated to our rule for their own benefit. This was apparent in our treatment of Native Americans during Manifest Destiny; and just so with the expansionist drive to "follow the sun."
During this period, Japan became our anointed local stooge. Even as Roosevelt was basking in the glow of a Nobel Peace Prize, he was cutting a secret deal with Japan to give them control of Korea. Roosevelt considered the Slavic Russians an inferior breed of white man, and meanwhile Japan was stoked to prove themselves worthy of the notion that they were the "Aryan's of the east." What followed was the Russo-Japanese War, which indeed accomplished several of Roosevelt's diplomatic goals.
In my own visits to the Philippines, I am often struck by the friendliness of the people there. However, that is not true throughout the entire country, and resentment still runs high in such towns as Zamboanga (where we still have forces stationed). In 1895, during the brief period between the end of the Spanish-American War (where the Battle of Manila was fought without casualties to Spain or the US by a prior agreement) and the time the US made it clear they were not there to liberate the country, an independent government arose attempting to base their own ideals on that of the US Constitution. There is still some of that same reverence toward the US even today, but., like Cuba and, to a lesser degree Mexico, it was a botched diplomatic opportunity that haunts us to this day.
It is somewhat difficult to remain objective more than a century later where such behavior results in outrage, and Bradley somewhat struggles with this in underlying references to the actions that two generations later shocked and horrified the world under the Nazi banner. What he does accomplish, however, is stripping some of the greatness off the Roosevelt regime. History remembers him as one of our greatest leaders...but it all seems to be a smoke-and-mirrors PR campaign. In modern times, Roosevelt seems like the kind of guy we'd send an invasion force to depose, not one to immortalize on the side of a mountain.
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LibraryThing member queencersei
The Imperial Cruise details the beginnings of World War II, specifically causes of the war that stemmed from secret negotiations instigated by Teddy Roosevelt. Massacres in the Philippians, the sellout of Korea and China and the beginnings of Japans rise of militant expansionism can all be traced
The novel also details Teddy’s posh upper crust upbringing, carefully constructed manly persona and troubled relationship with his eldest child, Alice. Also explored are the 19th century American ideas of race and how this endemic bigotry shaped Roosevelt’s opinions of the ‘Asian Negro’s’ leading to the catastrophe of World War II less then forty years later.
James Bradley shows in vivid detail how inept American leaders can be when dealing with foreign peoples and the long term tragedies that have resulted directly from American ignorance and assumed position of superiority. The parallels between global events at the dawn of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first century are depressingly eerie.
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back to the Teddy Roosevelt and his yes man and eventual Presidential successor, Taft. The novel also details Teddy’s posh upper crust upbringing, carefully constructed manly persona and troubled relationship with his eldest child, Alice. Also explored are the 19th century American ideas of race and how this endemic bigotry shaped Roosevelt’s opinions of the ‘Asian Negro’s’ leading to the catastrophe of World War II less then forty years later.
James Bradley shows in vivid detail how inept American leaders can be when dealing with foreign peoples and the long term tragedies that have resulted directly from American ignorance and assumed position of superiority. The parallels between global events at the dawn of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first century are depressingly eerie.
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LibraryThing member GShuk
A must read controversial book for anyone who is unaware how racial theory played a roll in US development. It also exposes how similar USA was to Europe when they tried to colonize other countries. It covers Mexico, American Indians the takeover of Philippines, takeover of Hawaii, broken promises
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with Korea (reminds me of Survivor), initiation and encouragement of Japanese expansion. It also helps explain why Chinese were the object of prejudice whereas the Japanese were not. Hard and scary to believe a leader could think that way but then it seems that was how many thought at the turn of the century. The reviews on this book are split, however one thing is certain it is entertaining and will make you think. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cascadian
"Empire," Orwell reminds us in his 1942 essay on Kipling, "is primarily a money-making affair. ... The map is painted red," he notes, "chiefly so the coolie can be exploited." For "coolie" substitute "Chinese," "Hawaiian," or "Filipino," and you have a pretty fair statement of one of James
Many reviewers have criticized Bradley for factual misstatements or misinterpretations, poor citations, or simply an overly polemical tone. But I think it's important to note, too, the ire generated simply by his willingness to throw mud on icons of our civic religion like Theodore Roosevelt and the selfless benevolence of American soldiers and Marines, or even to state the self-evident fact that the U.S. became at the time covered in this book, and remains to this day, an imperial power. (Note how many reviewers flay Bradley for "giving in to political correctness," a by-now-largely-meaningless term that signifies little more than "something Sean Hannity wouldn't like.)
Despite the flaws, though, there is quite a bit of value in what I take to be Bradley's three key points.
The first of these is the fact of the commercially-driven power politics of America's Pacific expansionism -- shaped by the racial theories of the time and promoted as part of a civilizing mission ("Initiating what would become a recurring Yankee tradition," Bradley writes, "McKinley contended that the U.S. military could invade other countries when Americans decided that their people needed help. McKinley conjured up the fantasy that when a U.S. soldier pointed a gun at a foreign Other, he was there to help" [p. 79]).
The second is that U.S. encouragement of Japanese expansionism, as the Asian nation most thoroughly in line with "the principles and methods of Western civilization" (p. 217, quoting TR), led directly to World War Two. And the third is that the Theodore Roosevelt we remember and lionize today is largely a myth of TR's own creation. Though not unusual among talented politicians -- Winston Churchill created his own myth too, as John Ramsden showed in Man of the Century: Winston Churchill and His Legend Since 1945 -- seeing through the propaganda is essential for a clear understanding of the person and his impact.
Flawed as "The Imperial Cruise" may be, by reminding us of these important facts, James Bradley has written a book that deserves to be read and recognized as a useful work of "revisionist" history.
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Bradley's main arguments in "The Imperial Cruise" -- that it was cupidity more than anything else that led to U.S. assertion of power in the Pacific. This is an important argument -- one of several such timely bits of "revisionism" in a flawed but still very worthwhile book. Many reviewers have criticized Bradley for factual misstatements or misinterpretations, poor citations, or simply an overly polemical tone. But I think it's important to note, too, the ire generated simply by his willingness to throw mud on icons of our civic religion like Theodore Roosevelt and the selfless benevolence of American soldiers and Marines, or even to state the self-evident fact that the U.S. became at the time covered in this book, and remains to this day, an imperial power. (Note how many reviewers flay Bradley for "giving in to political correctness," a by-now-largely-meaningless term that signifies little more than "something Sean Hannity wouldn't like.)
Despite the flaws, though, there is quite a bit of value in what I take to be Bradley's three key points.
The first of these is the fact of the commercially-driven power politics of America's Pacific expansionism -- shaped by the racial theories of the time and promoted as part of a civilizing mission ("Initiating what would become a recurring Yankee tradition," Bradley writes, "McKinley contended that the U.S. military could invade other countries when Americans decided that their people needed help. McKinley conjured up the fantasy that when a U.S. soldier pointed a gun at a foreign Other, he was there to help" [p. 79]).
The second is that U.S. encouragement of Japanese expansionism, as the Asian nation most thoroughly in line with "the principles and methods of Western civilization" (p. 217, quoting TR), led directly to World War Two. And the third is that the Theodore Roosevelt we remember and lionize today is largely a myth of TR's own creation. Though not unusual among talented politicians -- Winston Churchill created his own myth too, as John Ramsden showed in Man of the Century: Winston Churchill and His Legend Since 1945 -- seeing through the propaganda is essential for a clear understanding of the person and his impact.
Flawed as "The Imperial Cruise" may be, by reminding us of these important facts, James Bradley has written a book that deserves to be read and recognized as a useful work of "revisionist" history.
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LibraryThing member nbmars
This is the story of a top-secret meeting engineered by President Theodore Roosevelt that, inter alia, allowed the Japanese to expand into Korea. “With this betrayal,” Bradley writes, “Roosevelt had green-lighted Japanese imperialism on the Asian continent. Decades later, another Roosevelt
Late 19th century Harvard was the source of a great deal of theorizing about white supremacy, and Teddy Roosevelt avidly subscribed to it. He considered those areas not conquered and occupied by white English-speaking peoples "waste spaces" and believed it was the "manifest destiny" of whites to control all other races.
This attitude suffused his dealings with and policies toward American Indians and foreign countries.
In the summer of 1905, Roosevelt sent Vice President William Howard Taft, seven senators, twenty-three representatives, his notorious daughter Alice, and about forty additional aids, servants, and hangers-on on a three month cruise of the Pacific on the passenger ship Manchurian. The ostensible purpose of the mission was to “show the flag” to Hawaiians, newly acquired little brown brother Filipino subjects (who were still in revolt seven years after the USA had “won” them from Spain), and various other "inferior" people like the Japanese and Chinese. “Princess” Alice monopolized the press coverage with her good looks and saucy demeanor, but “Big Bill” Taft had an important secret agenda.
The Japanese had just soundly trounced the Russian army and navy in the Russo-Japanese War. Roosevelt was about to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts as mediator and peacemaker to conclude the treaty of peace between the combatants. Roosevelt’s strategic aims were to extend the American empire over the Philippines and to force an “open door” to American business interests in China.
Roosevelt, like most Americans of the time, considered the Anglo-Saxons to be superior in every important way to the “yellow” race that populated Asia, who were perceived to be incapable of self-government. Roosevelt, however, recognized that the Japanese had made great strides toward becoming almost white. He was willing to deal with them almost as equals, as long as they did not become too powerful. He saw them as useful pawns to prevent the expansion of Russian power into China.
Taft’s mission was several-fold. First, he was to inform the Filipinos that they were not ready for self-government, and would not be for at least a generation and maybe not for a hundred years. Second, he was to explore the opening of American trading rights with China. And third, he was to give the Japanese the go ahead for formulating a kind of Monroe Doctrine whereby Japan would undertake the role of policeman and dominant country in East Asia. In particular, Japan was to assert outright control of Manchuria and Korea.
The Japanese at first welcomed Taft and the other Americans, but later became angry with them when they were unwilling to wrest a large cash indemnity for Japan from the Russians in settlement of the war. Nevertheless, the Japanese took advantage of America’s oral assent to their expansionist policies by immediately occupying Korea and conquering Manchuria. The Japanese “Monroe Doctrine” morphed into the Greater East Asian Prosperity Sphere, when the Japanese invaded China, Indo-China, and Malaysia, beginning in 1933. [The atrocities committed by the Japanese by the invading forces were documented in Iris Chang’s horrifying account, The Rape of Nanking.] Bradley blames Teddy Roosevelt for encouraging Japan to embark on a policy that led directly to World War II in the Pacific.
The Imperial Cruise covers more than just the cruise and Taft’s secret mission. Bradley writes a good synopsis of the opening of Japan to western ideas and its forced opening to western trade. In addition, he covers American relations with Korea: how America first befriended the Koreans, but then sold them out to Japan in exchange for Japanese assistance in China. He also details America’s sorry history in the Philippines, where we fought for almost a decade to subdue the Filipino people, only to decide that the islands had little or no strategic value. [The casualties for Americans were relatively light; some 4,000 Americans died in battle. On the other hand, approximately, 200,000 Filipinos died in battle, with an additional 200,000 civilians dying from disease in relocation camps.] Bradley argues that American perceived racial superiority added to the ferocity of the fighting and increased the incidence of appalling acts.
Evaluation: Bradley’s book is well - albeit selectively - researched and footnoted, and consistently held my interest. His theory on the cause of World War II is simplistic to say the least, but if placed in context with other histories provides much food for thought. He limns a highly unfavorable portrait of one of America’s most beloved presidents. However, the portrait of Roosevelt is consistent with other accounts, such as the one in Evan Thomas’s book The War Lovers. Maybe we need to downsize Mount Rushmore.
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would be forced to deal with the bloody ramifications of Teddy’s secret maneuvering.”Late 19th century Harvard was the source of a great deal of theorizing about white supremacy, and Teddy Roosevelt avidly subscribed to it. He considered those areas not conquered and occupied by white English-speaking peoples "waste spaces" and believed it was the "manifest destiny" of whites to control all other races.
This attitude suffused his dealings with and policies toward American Indians and foreign countries.
In the summer of 1905, Roosevelt sent Vice President William Howard Taft, seven senators, twenty-three representatives, his notorious daughter Alice, and about forty additional aids, servants, and hangers-on on a three month cruise of the Pacific on the passenger ship Manchurian. The ostensible purpose of the mission was to “show the flag” to Hawaiians, newly acquired little brown brother Filipino subjects (who were still in revolt seven years after the USA had “won” them from Spain), and various other "inferior" people like the Japanese and Chinese. “Princess” Alice monopolized the press coverage with her good looks and saucy demeanor, but “Big Bill” Taft had an important secret agenda.
The Japanese had just soundly trounced the Russian army and navy in the Russo-Japanese War. Roosevelt was about to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts as mediator and peacemaker to conclude the treaty of peace between the combatants. Roosevelt’s strategic aims were to extend the American empire over the Philippines and to force an “open door” to American business interests in China.
Roosevelt, like most Americans of the time, considered the Anglo-Saxons to be superior in every important way to the “yellow” race that populated Asia, who were perceived to be incapable of self-government. Roosevelt, however, recognized that the Japanese had made great strides toward becoming almost white. He was willing to deal with them almost as equals, as long as they did not become too powerful. He saw them as useful pawns to prevent the expansion of Russian power into China.
Taft’s mission was several-fold. First, he was to inform the Filipinos that they were not ready for self-government, and would not be for at least a generation and maybe not for a hundred years. Second, he was to explore the opening of American trading rights with China. And third, he was to give the Japanese the go ahead for formulating a kind of Monroe Doctrine whereby Japan would undertake the role of policeman and dominant country in East Asia. In particular, Japan was to assert outright control of Manchuria and Korea.
The Japanese at first welcomed Taft and the other Americans, but later became angry with them when they were unwilling to wrest a large cash indemnity for Japan from the Russians in settlement of the war. Nevertheless, the Japanese took advantage of America’s oral assent to their expansionist policies by immediately occupying Korea and conquering Manchuria. The Japanese “Monroe Doctrine” morphed into the Greater East Asian Prosperity Sphere, when the Japanese invaded China, Indo-China, and Malaysia, beginning in 1933. [The atrocities committed by the Japanese by the invading forces were documented in Iris Chang’s horrifying account, The Rape of Nanking.] Bradley blames Teddy Roosevelt for encouraging Japan to embark on a policy that led directly to World War II in the Pacific.
The Imperial Cruise covers more than just the cruise and Taft’s secret mission. Bradley writes a good synopsis of the opening of Japan to western ideas and its forced opening to western trade. In addition, he covers American relations with Korea: how America first befriended the Koreans, but then sold them out to Japan in exchange for Japanese assistance in China. He also details America’s sorry history in the Philippines, where we fought for almost a decade to subdue the Filipino people, only to decide that the islands had little or no strategic value. [The casualties for Americans were relatively light; some 4,000 Americans died in battle. On the other hand, approximately, 200,000 Filipinos died in battle, with an additional 200,000 civilians dying from disease in relocation camps.] Bradley argues that American perceived racial superiority added to the ferocity of the fighting and increased the incidence of appalling acts.
Evaluation: Bradley’s book is well - albeit selectively - researched and footnoted, and consistently held my interest. His theory on the cause of World War II is simplistic to say the least, but if placed in context with other histories provides much food for thought. He limns a highly unfavorable portrait of one of America’s most beloved presidents. However, the portrait of Roosevelt is consistent with other accounts, such as the one in Evan Thomas’s book The War Lovers. Maybe we need to downsize Mount Rushmore.
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LibraryThing member 33racoonie
Maybe this book is more interesting when read rather than listened to. I listened, and it was a jumble of history facts that seemed to have no relation to the title. I love history, but this got so boring I gave up on it and didn't finish the book.
LibraryThing member DirtPriest
Mr. Bradley is most famous, and deservedly so, for 'Flags of our Fathers'. His follow-up, 'Flyboys' is also a worthy history, but Imperial Cruise is the result of research into why the Asian world and specifically the Japanese Empire was so vehemently anti-American.
The book starts with a look into
The main thrust is that white Christian politics of the day stood mostly for setting up a government for uncivilized 'lesser races', usually with disastrous results for both sides, as they were clearly incapable of governing themselves as uneducated savages. Not much of a surprise, but it foretells the whole Iraq mess. All in all, an excellently informative book. I liked the conversational style Bradley uses, like calling the main players Teddy and Big Bill, several reviews were negative on that point but so be it.
The book starts with a look into
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the privileged upbringing of Teddy Roosevelt and his careful culturing of a public persona which stands as the standard view of the real Roosevelt to this day, like refusing to let anyone photograph him playing tennis, but doing studio shots in his Rough Rider gear to promote his manly image as a pioneer. The absolute shenanigans of Roosevelt and then Secretary of William Taft involved in the Battle for Phillipines Independence from Spain, the support of Japan as 'honorary Aryans' in their quest to civilize the Asian continent in the proper white Christian way, followed by the refusal to support them in a post-war treaty with Russia, and the poor xenophobic treatment of the Chinese at the turn of the 20th century are areas of our country's history that are usually conveniently swept under the rug. The best way to sum up this book in a sentence is that there is a picture of US Army soldiers waterboarding a Philipino of some sort, civilian or guerrilla fighter, it doesn't really matter, way back in 1901 and the soldiers had a rather morbid song about it.The main thrust is that white Christian politics of the day stood mostly for setting up a government for uncivilized 'lesser races', usually with disastrous results for both sides, as they were clearly incapable of governing themselves as uneducated savages. Not much of a surprise, but it foretells the whole Iraq mess. All in all, an excellently informative book. I liked the conversational style Bradley uses, like calling the main players Teddy and Big Bill, several reviews were negative on that point but so be it.
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LibraryThing member Northlaw
The American Empire is similar to all other empires because of the basic fact that to be an empire you have to conquer other lands and people either by military or economic means. And because they are presently, the dominant empire, they have been able to portray their conquests as "different" from
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the others, by benign explanations that repeated enough and magnified enough appear for awhile to be the truth. However, the ugly facts of all empire building are still there underneath. This book, in a popular fashion brings out some of those ugly truths. Personally, I was surprised at the degree of racism endemic to American politics during the time period covered. It was nice to find out I still could be naive. Also interesting is the degree of American involvement in the roots of the Second World War in the Pacific, where a number of empires clashed for supremacy. A book I would recommend highly. Show Less
LibraryThing member corgiiman
This book was an eye opener for me, one who believed in the benevolent "big brother" concept of the United States. It just proved how selfish policies and belittling of other peoples can lead to resentment. While I would have liked to see a more organized presentation of the fact, this book was an
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enjoyable read and enlightening of history I knew little about. Show Less
LibraryThing member jrtanworth
This engaging book uses the occasion of a visit to several Pacific Asian nations by Secretary of War Taft and a large entourage of politicians, businessmen, and the president's daughter Alice Roosevelt to deliver a polemic against America's violent, racist imperialistic foreign policy. His central
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thesis is that Roosevelt's misguided belief in the superiority of the Aryan race, and misplaced confidence in the westernization of Japan, led to secret personalized and bungled relations with Japan that resulted in Japanese takeover of Korea with no positive results for the US, and foreshadowing the Japanese expansionism that led to World War 11 in the Pacific. The book describes the cruise, America's horrible treatment of the Philippine people, and background of the various participants in the drama. There is much of interest here but the detail is uneven. The combination of the story of the cruise (and Alice's social impact) and the betrayal of Korea don't fit together very well, and the narrative jumps around too much. Show Less
LibraryThing member zimbawilson
I initially avoided purchasing this book in hardcover (even though I greatly enjoyed Bradley's other 2 books) due to the many negative reviews I read about it. The ones that troubled me most were the statements claiming Bradley made many historical errors. I've read books myself where I know facts
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are incorrect and it can be rather off-putting. Well as I should have realized, these reviews are mostly angry, nit-picking opinions by people that don't like revisionist history even if the truth hurts. It is clear from the beginning that Bradley is trying to cast a wide net over what has brought us to war in the past and how we continue making the same mistakes and thus never learning from history. I find it hard to believe that anyone that simply browsed thru this book thought it was going to be a day by day diary account of the 'imperial cruise'. I think Bradley may have overreached in trying to cram so much history into such a small book, but I think his points were certainly made. For those that wish to keep history in a pretty glass frame and admire what a great people we were, are and always will be, don't bother reading this book. For anyone that wants just a small piece of how America really was built this is an excellent jumping off point. As others have mentioned, it's no suprise that the majority of white Americans were racist to one degree or another in that era and that it would effect everything from daily life in the states to invading foreign countries. I think the important thing to gleen from this book is not that Bradley is trying to tear down TR and other American icons, but rather why can't we learn from our past history, make more benevolent decisions and bring a better world to all. Not just the few rich & powerful that have dominated US history since only rich, white, male landowners could vote. Show Less
LibraryThing member gordon361
In ‘The Imperial Cruise’ James Bradley attempts to find the roots of WWII in Theodore Roosevelt’s involvement in Asian affairs during his presidency. The basis of his thesis is the Anglo-Saxon race’s desire to push civilization westward and Roosevelt’s insatiable desire to march that
James Bradley has written two wonderful books that follow the exploits of average men doing courageous deeds in extraordinary circumstances during WWII. Bradley, however, is not a historian nor presidential scholar and he is in way over his head in this attempt to redefine one of histories most documented figures. The casual reader may be impressed, but those with a greater understanding of human history will simply scratch their heads.
The book uses two unjust tactics to sell Bradley’s thesis. The first is bait and switch. The book jacket tells us that the intent of the cruise was to secretly create an agreement to divide up Asia. The work on this was already done and the cruise simply serves as a vehicle for the author to backtrack us through history in order make white males look like insatiable conquerors (which to some extent they were) and make Alice Roosevelt and William Howard Taft look like bumbling fools. The second tactic is a shell game. We are given many historical facts, then they are mixed up until we can’t find the conventional conclusion we were expecting.
The main theme of ‘The Imperial Cruise’ is that the Aryan race from northern Iran created a civilization more advanced than others around them. They then moved west and assimilated or conquered those in their way. These people eventually became the Teuton (northern Europe) and Anglo-Saxon (western Europe) races who settled Europe and eventually the New World. Bradley repeatedly uses the term ‘Aryans‘, one would think to bring forth the negative image associated with the Nazis. These Anglo-Saxons and Teutons settle America and proceed to conquer North America until they are stopped cold by the Pacific Ocean. Bradley believes that Roosevelt felt it his duty as a white male to impose his version of civilization on Asia and complete the Aryan circumnavigation of the world.
We are reminded of the immoral American overthrows of Hawaii and the Philippines, a full chapter is dedicated to each, and also one on our encouragement of the Meiji restoration in Japan entitled “Honorary Aryans”. All these events attempt to indict Roosevelt as an conquering imperialist, yet all happened before he took office. They were; however, existing stepping stones to Asia where Roosevelt could jump off and bring western style democracy, values and open major new economic markets.
The greatest fault in this book is not in the history that is told, for unfortunately, most of it is true, though not conveyed completely accurately. The fault lies in picking and choosing events, taking them out of context and then trying to lay the blame for the results of those events at the feet of others. A second fault lies in the complete lack of discussion of the growth of the sensibilities of the western mind. All the events of the book took place over a century ago when conventional western views were a lot less sensitized than they are today. In fact, there are two glaring examples of this in the book that are actually used to illustrate how barbaric our behavior was. Two other historical points are also not mentioned which might weaken the authors thesis. One, the ultimate failure of The Crusades to subjugate the Middle East. Secondly, the Islamic conquering path west through northern Africa and ultimately Spain. One should also realize that the research for this book began in 2005 and the writing probably soon after. That is the time when the war in Iraq was reaching it’s lowest point. The attempted juxtaposition is glaring and obvious.
To sum up, I cannot do better than the quote from the New York Times review printed right on the cover “… revisionist history at it’s best.”
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progress into Asia.James Bradley has written two wonderful books that follow the exploits of average men doing courageous deeds in extraordinary circumstances during WWII. Bradley, however, is not a historian nor presidential scholar and he is in way over his head in this attempt to redefine one of histories most documented figures. The casual reader may be impressed, but those with a greater understanding of human history will simply scratch their heads.
The book uses two unjust tactics to sell Bradley’s thesis. The first is bait and switch. The book jacket tells us that the intent of the cruise was to secretly create an agreement to divide up Asia. The work on this was already done and the cruise simply serves as a vehicle for the author to backtrack us through history in order make white males look like insatiable conquerors (which to some extent they were) and make Alice Roosevelt and William Howard Taft look like bumbling fools. The second tactic is a shell game. We are given many historical facts, then they are mixed up until we can’t find the conventional conclusion we were expecting.
The main theme of ‘The Imperial Cruise’ is that the Aryan race from northern Iran created a civilization more advanced than others around them. They then moved west and assimilated or conquered those in their way. These people eventually became the Teuton (northern Europe) and Anglo-Saxon (western Europe) races who settled Europe and eventually the New World. Bradley repeatedly uses the term ‘Aryans‘, one would think to bring forth the negative image associated with the Nazis. These Anglo-Saxons and Teutons settle America and proceed to conquer North America until they are stopped cold by the Pacific Ocean. Bradley believes that Roosevelt felt it his duty as a white male to impose his version of civilization on Asia and complete the Aryan circumnavigation of the world.
We are reminded of the immoral American overthrows of Hawaii and the Philippines, a full chapter is dedicated to each, and also one on our encouragement of the Meiji restoration in Japan entitled “Honorary Aryans”. All these events attempt to indict Roosevelt as an conquering imperialist, yet all happened before he took office. They were; however, existing stepping stones to Asia where Roosevelt could jump off and bring western style democracy, values and open major new economic markets.
The greatest fault in this book is not in the history that is told, for unfortunately, most of it is true, though not conveyed completely accurately. The fault lies in picking and choosing events, taking them out of context and then trying to lay the blame for the results of those events at the feet of others. A second fault lies in the complete lack of discussion of the growth of the sensibilities of the western mind. All the events of the book took place over a century ago when conventional western views were a lot less sensitized than they are today. In fact, there are two glaring examples of this in the book that are actually used to illustrate how barbaric our behavior was. Two other historical points are also not mentioned which might weaken the authors thesis. One, the ultimate failure of The Crusades to subjugate the Middle East. Secondly, the Islamic conquering path west through northern Africa and ultimately Spain. One should also realize that the research for this book began in 2005 and the writing probably soon after. That is the time when the war in Iraq was reaching it’s lowest point. The attempted juxtaposition is glaring and obvious.
To sum up, I cannot do better than the quote from the New York Times review printed right on the cover “… revisionist history at it’s best.”
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LibraryThing member thosgpetri
I found "the Imperial Cruise" to be a very informative and enjoyable book. That Roosevelt was a racist is no surprise, Edmond Morris had already made that clear in his in depth history of Roosevelt. It was an integral part of the American psych (and still is). But if T.R. was a product of his
asia. The author sees T.R. encouraging Japan as a way to civilise not only the Koreans and Chinese, but also controlling the spread of Slavic culture,personified by the Russian Empire. The Russians were than pushing eastward into China where they became a threat to Japan's influence in the region. The author's thesis is that then Japan was unhindered in it's expansionin east asia and the Pacific rim.
The author empathises T.R.'s racism, but I feel he shows some of his own by consistently referring to the Japanese people as Japs, a perjoritive left over from WWII. If this had an effect on his assumptions and conclusions in writing this book I don't know. But to me it was a jarring note in a book about the consequences of racism as I believe this book to be.
The book is however well written, agree with it or not. It very much raises questions about American culture, past and present, and requires the reader to spend time rethinking the information and ideas in this book.
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culture he was also ,intelligent enough to question those assumptions and see the humanity of individuals. I think to some degree we all harbor some vestige prejudice and over come it by transferring the quality of individuals we know to the greater group of their peers. In this way T.R. came to see the Japanese as "honorary Aryans"; this mistaken assumption led T.R. to justify Japan's aggression in asia. The author sees T.R. encouraging Japan as a way to civilise not only the Koreans and Chinese, but also controlling the spread of Slavic culture,personified by the Russian Empire. The Russians were than pushing eastward into China where they became a threat to Japan's influence in the region. The author's thesis is that then Japan was unhindered in it's expansionin east asia and the Pacific rim.
The author empathises T.R.'s racism, but I feel he shows some of his own by consistently referring to the Japanese people as Japs, a perjoritive left over from WWII. If this had an effect on his assumptions and conclusions in writing this book I don't know. But to me it was a jarring note in a book about the consequences of racism as I believe this book to be.
The book is however well written, agree with it or not. It very much raises questions about American culture, past and present, and requires the reader to spend time rethinking the information and ideas in this book.
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LibraryThing member phyllis01
Illuminating, readable history of the beginning of what lead to the conflict with Japan in WWII; how beliefs about race-specifically the superiority of the so-called Anglo Saxon race informed American imperialism at the time, as well as a much different view of Teddy Roosevelt than most of us got
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from our whitewashed version of US History in school. Show Less
LibraryThing member sito118
i enjoyed it although the actions that took place made me sick to my stomach
LibraryThing member MikeD
This is a great book that explains real history left out of our history books. It explains a lot about Americans, their desire to follow the Sun.... and how the efforts of Teddy Roosevelt in his quest to acquire country's like the Philippines, Japan, Korea. It gives us a glimpse into the reasons
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Japan attacked us in 1941, leading to the Pacific War. This book will shake your perception of American History, guraanteed! Show Less
LibraryThing member cad_lib
A real eye-opener for me. I had not paid attention to the history & attitudes of US society in the 1890s through 1914. Had no ideal how fully entrenched into the culture and its leadership racial discrimination was. Shocking to see language that could come out of 1930s German propaganda was being
The book's thesis that Teddy Roosevelt's political heritage set the stage for 100 years of problems is sustained.
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said, written by American politicians.The book's thesis that Teddy Roosevelt's political heritage set the stage for 100 years of problems is sustained.
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LibraryThing member wrharringtonjr
In the summer of 1905, the perilous waters of the Pacific played host to a treacherous political ploy that served the conceited interests of a gluttonous nation. Theodore Roosevelt, the conductor of this covert operation and one of the most revered American presidents of all time, had his eyes set
Henceforth, American domestic and foreign policies become the major focal points of the book, and the imperial cruise itself takes a backseat. The author consistently touches on Aryan ideals and their strong influence in the late 19th century. He uses this thesis to explain the motivation behind these policies and the political figures that backed them, namely Teddy Roosevelt and his associates. Several chapters are devoted to depicting America’s duplicity in Cuba and the Philippines. In a very convoluted manner, James Bradley portrays Uncle Sam as a major supporter of these countries while they are fighting for their independence. He succeeds in showing the arrogant march of the U.S into the middle of these conflicts under the promise of democracy and freedom. However, the end result is simply a new tyranny. Mentions are also made of racially motivated atrocities that transpired during America’s oppressive imposition. After procuring the Philippines, America realizes the land is more trouble than it is worth. As they continue to “follow the sun” their westward expansion reaches its apex in Japan. Hoping to crack open the door to Asia, Commodore Matthew Perry is sent to Japan and puts an end to Sakoku at gun point. This event is the end of peaceful prosperity for Japan. They are forced to quickly conform to Western ways, and adapt with excellence. They receive the admiration of America for converting with ease. Teddy in particular develops an affinity for these “Honorary Aryans”, and his diplomacy centers on catering to them as alluded to in the book. Urging them to become the dominate power in the Pacific, he inconspicuously hands them Korea on a silver platter. What Teddy fails to deliver on is an indemnity that he promised to Japan during the Treaty of Portsmouth. His effort during these negotiations wins him the Noble Peace Prize, but Japan’s victory feels more like a defeat as they now have to exhaust their economy even further after the war. Bradley openly states that this is the seed of Japan’s animosity towards the U.S., and one of the root causes of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Truthfully, the imperial cruise is a just lure that is left relatively undeveloped. The book is basically a full on assault aimed at Theodore Roosevelt and his supporting cast. The author rightfully scrutinizes the bigotry and blatant ethnocentric remarks of Teddy and his peers, but he fails to divulge any enlightening information. Major points are broken up throughout the book completely destroying its impetus. Apropos, this chaotic conglomeration is more stifling than it is revealing. The reader is bombarded with a barrage of unorganized information that is extremely captivating at several points but these very broad subjects are covered in a scant amount of space. Because of this the reader needs to be diligent enough to research the pieces of evidence that Bradley presents. His perspective is raw, refreshing, and probably the most enjoyable part of the book as it is a noticeable departure from his earlier works, but as the pages progress his tonality becomes increasingly insolent instead of informative. He frequently uses racial slurs to bring home his points as if the fact he is writing a book mitigates their magnitude. The entire work peters from poignant to pretentious, delivering a real lackluster punch. The author does himself no justice and comes off like an indignant angst filled child, shocked at the skeletons he has found in the Government's closet, compelling him to write this horrendous book. Overall, it’s a good jump start into the history of American political affairs during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but you’re better off “following the sun” outside where you can find something better to do with your time.
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on exploiting the lucrative lands of Asia. He dispatches a slew of political figures on the SS Manchuria to represent American interest in the Pacific. Their diplomatic voyage will take them to Hawaii, the Philippines, Korea, and Japan. Among the crew are several notable figures such as Vice President Taft and Alice Roosevelt, the first daughter. These passengers in particular had a certain strategical significance to the overall end that Teddy was trying to reach. This historical odyssey, termed “The Imperial Cruise”, is the linchpin of James Bradley’s book, and takes place during a pivotal point in history. The Russo-Japanese War had reached its climax, Meiji Reformation had caused Japan’s military complex to peak, and China was still recovering from the Opium wars. With the Russians reeling and the Chinese in tumult, the Japanese were poised to be the dominant power of the Pacific. As Mr. Bradley points out in his book, American diplomats encouraged Japanese aggression by propagating and advocating adherence to a philosophy known as the Monroe Doctrine. At this point, having already adopted many other western practices, they openly embraced this stance, and later on it would become the catalyst for Japanese Imperialism.Henceforth, American domestic and foreign policies become the major focal points of the book, and the imperial cruise itself takes a backseat. The author consistently touches on Aryan ideals and their strong influence in the late 19th century. He uses this thesis to explain the motivation behind these policies and the political figures that backed them, namely Teddy Roosevelt and his associates. Several chapters are devoted to depicting America’s duplicity in Cuba and the Philippines. In a very convoluted manner, James Bradley portrays Uncle Sam as a major supporter of these countries while they are fighting for their independence. He succeeds in showing the arrogant march of the U.S into the middle of these conflicts under the promise of democracy and freedom. However, the end result is simply a new tyranny. Mentions are also made of racially motivated atrocities that transpired during America’s oppressive imposition. After procuring the Philippines, America realizes the land is more trouble than it is worth. As they continue to “follow the sun” their westward expansion reaches its apex in Japan. Hoping to crack open the door to Asia, Commodore Matthew Perry is sent to Japan and puts an end to Sakoku at gun point. This event is the end of peaceful prosperity for Japan. They are forced to quickly conform to Western ways, and adapt with excellence. They receive the admiration of America for converting with ease. Teddy in particular develops an affinity for these “Honorary Aryans”, and his diplomacy centers on catering to them as alluded to in the book. Urging them to become the dominate power in the Pacific, he inconspicuously hands them Korea on a silver platter. What Teddy fails to deliver on is an indemnity that he promised to Japan during the Treaty of Portsmouth. His effort during these negotiations wins him the Noble Peace Prize, but Japan’s victory feels more like a defeat as they now have to exhaust their economy even further after the war. Bradley openly states that this is the seed of Japan’s animosity towards the U.S., and one of the root causes of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Truthfully, the imperial cruise is a just lure that is left relatively undeveloped. The book is basically a full on assault aimed at Theodore Roosevelt and his supporting cast. The author rightfully scrutinizes the bigotry and blatant ethnocentric remarks of Teddy and his peers, but he fails to divulge any enlightening information. Major points are broken up throughout the book completely destroying its impetus. Apropos, this chaotic conglomeration is more stifling than it is revealing. The reader is bombarded with a barrage of unorganized information that is extremely captivating at several points but these very broad subjects are covered in a scant amount of space. Because of this the reader needs to be diligent enough to research the pieces of evidence that Bradley presents. His perspective is raw, refreshing, and probably the most enjoyable part of the book as it is a noticeable departure from his earlier works, but as the pages progress his tonality becomes increasingly insolent instead of informative. He frequently uses racial slurs to bring home his points as if the fact he is writing a book mitigates their magnitude. The entire work peters from poignant to pretentious, delivering a real lackluster punch. The author does himself no justice and comes off like an indignant angst filled child, shocked at the skeletons he has found in the Government's closet, compelling him to write this horrendous book. Overall, it’s a good jump start into the history of American political affairs during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but you’re better off “following the sun” outside where you can find something better to do with your time.
Show Less
LibraryThing member stevetempo
A provocative and in many ways a sobering book. Mr Bradley illuminates many key and sometimes forgotten foreign policy actions in the early part of the century under President Teddy Roosevelt. He makes a case for these actions being the prime movers in setting the conditions that will lead to World
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War II in the Pacific. The book also describes a United States more publicly tolerant of imperialistic and racist points of view then today. This was the public world view for many countries in the world at that time. I found the reading of these times both fascinating and disturbing. The analysis of events in the book shows that the results of initiatives cannot always be understood in such a complex realm as international relations. Faulty assumptions and unexpected events can lead to unsatisfactory states. While I don't believe the United States was completely responsible for setting up the conditions for a war with Japan, I believe their early twentieth century actions may have contributed greatly. The "not always remembered" accounts of United States mistreatments of their colonials and other Asia peoples serves to remind us that we haven't always acted with the high ideals we like to believe we always hold our county to. But a country can learn from their history and perhaps there are lessons from this work that can be applied to todays world. For anybody interested in world history from a different point of view I recommend this work. Show Less
LibraryThing member lothiriel2003
This could have been a well-written expose of the deplorable, aggressive foreign policy decisions made by the Roosevelt administration in Asia in the early part of the 20th century. But it's not. Mr. Bradley is so angry that the book becomes nothing but a hateful rant. From his lofty position as a
His bad guys are all two-dimensional, cartoonish figures with no redeeming characteristics and his villains are the usual suspects lately -- a Republican President, Christians and (maybe surprisingly) scholars from Harvard and other elite universities. I read two-thirds of the book and became so disgusted with the over-the-top hate that I put the book down.
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wise twenty-first century American, he casts judgement and aspersions on this earlier generation without taking the trouble to analyze what had lead up to this time in America. His only explanation is that all the American intellectuals and politicians had bought into the theory that white, Teutonic Europeans are meant to conquer and rule over the entire earth (think white supremacy). Life is rarely as simple as that and he makes no effort to achieve balance or perspective. He just keeps spewing invective.His bad guys are all two-dimensional, cartoonish figures with no redeeming characteristics and his villains are the usual suspects lately -- a Republican President, Christians and (maybe surprisingly) scholars from Harvard and other elite universities. I read two-thirds of the book and became so disgusted with the over-the-top hate that I put the book down.
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LibraryThing member DinadansFriend
A rather journalistic account of the efforts that the USA expended in adjusting new structure of the Far East since the Russo-Japanese war had come to an end. This trip involved the family of the then-president Theodore Roosevelt and the negotiating talents of William Taft. This is an interesting
rather lighter counterpart to Fromkin's book on the Middle East, "A Peace to End All Peace."
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examination of the peculiarly American form of colonialism played out over the next forty years. Arather lighter counterpart to Fromkin's book on the Middle East, "A Peace to End All Peace."
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LibraryThing member Chris_El
In this authors mind Teddy Roosevelt was a elitist, racist, serial lying, possibly homosexual, politician. American ideals from the beginning were driven by Aryan supremacy thought. Much time will be spent discussing the Aryan ideal early in the book. In this vein of thought the author reveals
Throughout the book the author refers to Americans as "Aryan Americans" and the diplomatic and military efforts by European nations as the "white Christians" as if all of their economic, political, and military actions could somehow be properly termed "christian" and typical historically as only the type of actions taken by white people.
The goal of the author in this book is to demonstrate that Teddy Roosevelt's imperialism was a cause of WWII in the Pacific and is therefore directly responsible for the deaths of 100,000 plus American soldiers in the Pacific during WWII. He does not succeed in my opinion of coming any where near proving that is the case and cannot even build a strong case for that theory. There are to many variables in the intervening decades.
Unfortunately for the author he has many of his facts mixed up as some other reviewers have noted. His editor did him a grave disservice in failing to assist in catching some of his factual errors.
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little understanding of either the American colonial or Victorian mindset. As a result he does not understand his main character, Teddy Roosevelt. Throughout the book the author refers to Americans as "Aryan Americans" and the diplomatic and military efforts by European nations as the "white Christians" as if all of their economic, political, and military actions could somehow be properly termed "christian" and typical historically as only the type of actions taken by white people.
The goal of the author in this book is to demonstrate that Teddy Roosevelt's imperialism was a cause of WWII in the Pacific and is therefore directly responsible for the deaths of 100,000 plus American soldiers in the Pacific during WWII. He does not succeed in my opinion of coming any where near proving that is the case and cannot even build a strong case for that theory. There are to many variables in the intervening decades.
Unfortunately for the author he has many of his facts mixed up as some other reviewers have noted. His editor did him a grave disservice in failing to assist in catching some of his factual errors.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009-11
Physical description
8.25 inches
ISBN
0316014001 / 9780316014007