First published 2009
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt sends Secretary of War William Taft on a covert diplomatic mission across Asia. Taft travels with Roosevelt's pistol-carrying daughter Alice and several congressmen to Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea. Their goal is to negotiate secret agreements that will carve up Asian territories and spheres of influence. Roosevelt believes America's imperial expansion across the Pacific represents the nation's manifest destiny. The delegation successfully brokers these clandestine pacts, establishing what they see as a new American empire in Asia. However, these hidden deals create the conditions for future catastrophes. The secret agreements ignite tensions that will eventually explode into World War II, the Korean conflict, and China's communist revolution. Author James Bradley follows the same route taken by Roosevelt's envoys, uncovering how American imperial ambitions shaped the modern world. The book reveals how Roosevelt's confident vision of American dominance in Asia set the stage for decades of warfare and geopolitical upheaval.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, politics, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-events, political-intrigue
Setting: Asia, Japan, Philippines, China, Korea
Period: 1905
387 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company