Richard O'Connor (2) (1915–1975)

I enjoyed almost every minute of reading this book. Parts felt more like an adventure novel rather than a history book. The book is heavy with one-of-a-kind characters such as Homer Lea, the author/military advister to Sun Yat-Sun/hunch back.
It was enlightening to view history through the prism of American involvement in the Pacific. The book begins right before the American Revolution and goes up to World War II (with some predictions for the future as well).
The part most eye-opening to me was the section on the Philippines. Our pacification and colonization of that country mirrors our involvement in Vietnam. The insurrection there was a also long, drawn out guerilla war in a jungle enviornment. The outcome in the Philippines worked out a bit better for the US government because from my opinion that war did not have critical journalists like Vietnam and Americans did not have the constant reminder of the war back then as they did in the 60's.… (more)