The imperial cruise : a true story 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.