Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines, and the Rise and Fall of America's Imperial Dream [Hardcover]

Gregg Jones (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 7, 2012

On the eve of a new century, an up-and-coming Theodore Roosevelt set out to transform the U.S. into a major world power. The Spanish-American War would forever change America's standing in global affairs, and drive the young nation into its own imperial showdown in the Philippines.

From Admiral George Dewey's legendary naval victory in Manila Bay to the Rough Riders' heroic charge up San Juan Hill, from Roosevelt's rise to the presidency to charges of U.S. military misconduct in the Philippines, Honor in the Dust brilliantly captures an era brimming with American optimism and confidence as the nation expanded its influence abroad.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This work reflects Jones’ deep immersion in the American counterinsurgency war of 1899–1902 in the Philippines, where he once was a foreign correspondent. Fitting his research of primary military documents into a wider narrative of the war’s effect on domestic American politics, Jones’ attentiveness to the latter importantly reminds readers of the popular backing the war had—confirmed by its Republican Party advocates’ victory in the 1900 election—which should ameliorate the general disrepute of the war and America’s colonial episode among current historical commentators. Jones shows himself a quite evenhanded presenter of contemporary anti- and pro-imperial exponents, Theodore Roosevelt most prominent among the latter. Opponents of overseas expansion, however, strengthened their stance on allegations of abuses of Filipinos by American forces in Luzon, Samar, and Panay, in particular, the on-the-ground details of which Jones sorts out and sets forth as they entered venues such as the U.S. Senate, courts-martial, and the press. Informative as to sources and fluidly readable, Jones’ account effectively introduces this controversial war in its contemporary context. --Gilbert Taylor

Review

"Honor in the Dust is a lively, documented narrative about an important but often neglected story in American history. Though it was not Roosevelt's finest hour, it was an important one that should not be forgotten." - The Dallas Morning News

"...Jones shows himself a quite evenhanded presenter of contemporary anti- and pro-imperial exponents, Theodore Roosevelt most prominent among the latter.... Informative as to sources and fluidly readable, Jones' account effectively introduces this controversial war in its contemporary context." - Booklist

"A well-researched, generally disinterested account whose parallels to today are obvious." - Kirkus Reviews

"Fascinating....In the end, Honor in the Dust is less about the freedom of the Philippines than the soul of the United States. This is the story of what happened when a powerful young country and its zealous young president were forced to face the high cost of their ambitions." -
Candice Millard in The New York Times Sunday Book Review.

“Honor in the Dust is a dramatic page-turner, told with marvelous reporting, crackling writing, and original insights. Gregg Jones presents a fascinating cast of characters and gripping battle scenes in a story that moves with the speed and power of a battleship. Utterly absorbing.” -Jonathan Eig, New York Times best-selling author of Get Capone

“America's brutal war of conquest in the Philippines is amazingly little-known, largely ignored in our schoolbooks and history museums. Yet its imperial hubris and its torture scandal eerily foreshadow events of the last decade. In his much-needed, highly readable book on this forgotten war, Gregg Jones has written both a compelling page-turner and a work of careful scholarship.” -Adam Hochschild, National Book Award finalist and author of King Leopold's Ghost

"Gregg Jones has produced a masterful and fast-paced book. Honor in the Dust may be classified as a work of history, but it reads like a thriller. Jones wisely stays focused and does not project events immediately following 1898 into the future, but the reader does. Foreshadowed are the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan-and on. This book is the vital prequel to understanding the state of American empire today." -Dale Maharidge, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of And Their Children After Them

 

“Extraordinary… Honor in the Dust is a work of monumental consequence, and its important historical lessons, though they've been frequently unheeded by subsequent administrations, are in any case most worthy of remembrance.” —The Christian Science Monitor

 

“A ripping read—facts and context interspersed with the smells and sounds of jungle warfare.” —The American Spectator

 
"History teaches us how to act, or how to not act as the case may be. Honor in the Dust is both good history and good teaching...Contributes significantly to an ignored and marginalized period of American history...concise and compelling."—Marine Corps Gazette

"Honor in the Dust is an absolutely riveting page-turner, a terrific read. Gregg Jones resurrects a long forgotten, but very important slice of American history, in which the country's imperialistic dreams clashed with its sense of honor and justice, severely testing Theodore Roosevelt's young presidency and forcing Americans to confront the horrors of war. Anyone interested in how America uses and abuses its power during times of war should read this book." -Eric Jay Dolin, author of Fur, Fortune, and Empire and Leviathan

"The Philippines Occupation was the first of the United States' quagmires, yet its lessons have been willfully ignored by later generations. Honor in the Dust recovers this essential history, the bombast of Washington's jingoism to the terror of the lost patrol in Samar. Gregg Jones does an admirable job of bringing this extraordinary period and its remarkable characters to life." -Anne Nelson, author of Savages

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover; First Edition edition (February 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451229045
• ISBN-13: 978-0451229045
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A Missouri native, Gregg Jones was a Pulitzer-finalist investigative reporter and foreign correspondent before writing books full time. He has been a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News and Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His work has also appeared in the Washington Post and Boston Globe, as well as the British Guardian and Observer newspapers. After living in Bangkok, Manila, Mexico City and northern California, he now calls Texas home.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 60 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enthralling Piece of History That Resonates Today February 18, 2012

By Thunder Road

Format:Hardcover

While about a specific period in American and Philippine history, this very good read has a timeless quality to it. Our bloody takeover of the Philippines was to turn-of-the-(20th)century America what Vietnam and Iraq were to later generations. That is, it was an awful mess full of hypocrisy, brutality and even torture (including what was then called the "water cure," which we imposed on Filipino combatants and civilians alike. Jones tells a compelling story about how we got into that mess, how Teddy Roosevelt spurred and justified and led it, the debates swirling around it, and how it played out so horribly on the ground.

Having lived in the Philippines for several years, I thought I knew a good bit about it's history and especially the US involvement there. But Honor in the Dust taught me a lot, including about how salient and controversial an issue that involvement was in the United States at the time. And given how Roosevelt is praised today as a great, trust-busting reformer (for which he does indeed deserve tremendous credit), the book also legitimately paints a portrait of a fellow driven by ego and imperialist ideology

Yet you don't have to be an expert on the Philippines, or even know anything about it at all, to appreciate this book and to enjoy the fine way in which it flows. And while it is of course focuses on the Philippines, it is much more about American policies and personalities and about how we became an empire.

As I was reading Honor in the Dust, I often thought that it was a shame that it did not come out several years ago, because much of it resonates with how we were misled into Iraq and how we justified torture and brutality there (or denied that what we condoned was either). Yet upon reflection I describe it here as being timeless and resonating today because the issue of whether and how the Unites States gets militarily engaged overseas will most definitely return again and again. The book is as relevant to 2012 or to, say, 2015, as it would have been to 2003 or 1967.

One more matter I want to highlight: Because the book illuminates the many things we did horribly wrong in the Philippines, some might take it (or this review) as anti-American or absolutely anti-war. That is not at all the case. There are American heroes in the story, not just creators and implementers of brutal policies. And Jone is scrupulous about telling the story factually, rather than drawing excessively judgmental conclusions. You don't come away thinking (or believing that Jones thinks) that all military engagement is wrong, but rather just certain justifications and actions.

Thus, this is not an anti-American or anti-war book. Rather, it is an engrossing read about a crucial but shameful period in our history. We need reminders such as this to avoid inflicting harm on foreign peoples and societies, trampling our honor in the dust.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bringing History to Life! March 10, 2012

By syngha

Format:Hardcover

I finally got my copy of this book yesterday and as I normally do with newly purchased books, I sat down to write my name and the date down on a chosen page. After about an hour, I still hadn't done what I initially set out to do. From the acknowledgements to the introductions and up to the last page I read before setting it down, I was truly engaged. Books on history are never a page turner for me, but this definitely defies that statement. I can't wait to pick it up and go back to the time and place Gregg Jones has chronicled in this MUST-READ book.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Honor in the Dust June 9, 2012

By Ralph D. Hermansen

Format:Hardcover

This is a book review of "Honor in the Dust" written by Greg Jones.

I like to browse the new books in the book aisle at Costco, while my wife does her grocery shopping. When I saw that this was a book about Theodore Roosevelt, I was immediately interested in buying it. I find him to be a fascinating and inspirational character and have read other biographies about him. Although some of the book is directly related to my favorite president, the majority of the book is a detailed wartime account of the US conquest of the Philippine islands. Much of the justification for the United States to invade the Philippine Islands and wrest it from Spain was the inhumane and barbaric treatment of the islanders by the Spanish rulers. The bulk of this book tells the story of how we mishandled the relationship with the Filipinos and how they came to view us as enemy conquerors rather than liberators. Naturally, they fought for their independence with the limited resources that they had. The US soldiers had rifles and machine guns, whereas the Filipinos only had knives and their ingenuity to resist the invasion.

As the Americans tried harder and harder to stifle resistance, the Filipinos fought back using guerrilla tactics and trickery. Before long, the Americans were employing tactics as brutal as the Spanish had done before them. The war had started under Pres. McKinley, but when he was assassinated Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency and the responsibility for the war effort. Although the military tried its best to hide its scandalous behavior against the Philippine natives, the truth leaked out to the American people. President Roosevelt and the Republicans were embarrassed and defensive. One item interesting to me, was that one of their most vocal critics was Mark Twain. I did not know this before, but his satirical wit was a lethal weapon against the administration.

As I read about the needless torture and killing of a people,who were only defending their country, I was reminded of our misadventures in Vietnam, our sickening and needless experiences in Iraq, and our current hopeless experiences in Afghanistan. It seems as though the same story gets played over and over in a different geography and with a different people. We are told by our government that we want to bring freedom and democracy to a subjugated population, which yearns for it. Before long we are slaughtering these people that we set out to help. We seem to be unable to learn from history and keep repeating the same mistakes again and again.

To the author Gregg Jones, I would like to make this suggestion if you get around to revising this book someday. I realize that you did a lot of research on the individuals conducting military operations in the Philippines and wanted to tell their complete stories. In your Epilogue, you touch on the final days of each of the major combatants to complete their stories. I did not find this very interesting. To put it bluntly everyone dies eventually and it seemed as if you were grinding through your list of characters. What I was hoping to read in your epilogue, was how the relationship between America and the Philippines evolved from the close of that war to the present day. This I would've found very educational and satisfying to my curiosity. Obviously, the Filipinos and the Americans hated each other at the end of the war. Yet today, we have had many decades of far better relationships. Just how that came about would have been far more enlightening to me than a checklist of how your characters met their final ends.

To those wondering if they would like to read this book, I would say the following: I found it worthwhile because it completed a period of American history that I was unfamiliar with and it told of individuals, who I knew by name but little else. Among those individuals were Arthur MacArthur, father of Douglas MacArthur who had his own story to tell during world war two in the Philippines. Another character would be Henry Cabot Lodge, whose name is very familiar but whose deeds were unknown to me. I also learned about the geography the Philippine Islands as the author moved the war story from island to island. Not only the geography was important, but the climate was more hostile than I had imagined. Our soldiers succumbed to diseases and greater number than they did the enemy's actions. Finally, I learned a not so flattering aspect of Teddy Roosevelt's reputation. Alas, he was human too.

Ralph Hermansen, review written June 9, 2012