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, 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. Contents: History repeating—Civilization follows the Sun—Benevolent intentions—Pacific Negroes—Haoles—Honorary Aryans—Playing Roosevelt's game—The Japanese Monroe Doctrine for Asia—The imperial cruise—Roosevelt's open and closed doors—Incognito in Japan—Sellout in Seoul—Following the Sun —