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A review by hoboken
The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898 by Evan Thomas
4.0
A great read. Thomas has a good narrative voice and a lively style. Vivid detail on the runup to and execution of the Spanish-American War--a period that I didn't know much about--told through the lives of TR, William Randolph Hearst, Henry Cabot Lodge (the first senator of that name), and two who opposed them, the psychologist William James and Speaker of the House Thomas Reed. The author notes that it's too bad no one remembers Reed anymore. Think of it--a Speaker with integrity.
This is the war where we got Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, and sowed the seeds of the mess that is still our relationship with Cuba today. And began the practice of waterboarding. How many people had to die b/c these men were little boys during the Civil War whose fathers paid substitutes to fight for them and lived with the guilt for the rest of their lives. Yes, TR was a friend of John Muir's and as President started the national parks and busted the trusts, but it's hard to get past the follies of his youth. I recommend this book.
This is the war where we got Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, and sowed the seeds of the mess that is still our relationship with Cuba today. And began the practice of waterboarding. How many people had to die b/c these men were little boys during the Civil War whose fathers paid substitutes to fight for them and lived with the guilt for the rest of their lives. Yes, TR was a friend of John Muir's and as President started the national parks and busted the trusts, but it's hard to get past the follies of his youth. I recommend this book.