In this continuation of his study of the interrelationship of naval and diplomatic policies, Braisted picks up the story in 1909 with the inauguration of President Taft and ends with the Washington Arms Conference of 1921–1922. He pays close attention to the efforts of U.S. naval leaders to secure the East Asian possessions of the United States against possible Japanese attack by assuring the Navy's capacity to win and retain control of the western Pacific. And for the first time, Braisted discusses the extraordinary naval building contract between the Bethlehem Steel Company and China in 1911 that committed the U.S. Navy to train Chinese naval personnel. Finally, the Washington Conference is shown to have been a triumph for traditional American attitudes toward East Asia over the more ambitious aspirations of American naval leaders. This second volume in Braisted's groundbreaking study is now available again in paperback

William R. Braisted earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and taught history at the University of Texas at Austin for many years. With a special interest in Far Eastern history, he lived for extended periods in China, Japan, and the Philippines, and traveled widely throughout Asia.