A review by spinnerroweok
The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War by James Bradley

2.0

Summary: Aryan Theodore Roosevelt leading the Aryan people of the Aryan United States sent his Aryan daughter Alice and Aryan "War God" Big Bill Taft and to the Orient to meet with Honorary Aryan Japan and other non-Aryan people. Stuff happens, then WWII.

Bradley has a very interesting story to tell here, but he loses a lot of credibility with his incredibly charged language i.e. Aryan (see above). It seems he uses this language to get a rise out of the reader. It seems that pathos guides his writing rather than logos or ethos. It seems there is some really good research in there, and it seems to be a story that I would have found compelling if it weren't for constant references to Aryan this and Teutonic that. Yes, these terms were germane to the story, but Bradley felt the need to constantly bring them up when they weren't needed and seemed only to serve a stealth purpose to equate the United States to Nazi Germany and Roosevelt to Hitler.

Also, Bradley repeated himself a lot. I would like to see this same research treated in a less emotional manner.

Taft, a war god? C'mon.

I can't say I recommend this one. It just became more and more painful as I listened on. However, I did finish it in three days.