Honor in the Dust is the story of one of the lesser known, "wish that hadn't happened" stories in US history, namely the occupation of the Philippines and the war there that took place from 1899-1902. It also covers the Spanish-American War. It was a time when a mood of expansionism and imperialism took hold in the country. The best description I've heard was that the country was temporarily gripped by a "madness", the cause of which was the European land grab in Africa and China. There was a feeling that the US was going to be "left out" and that it would cost the country in the long term. So after the Philippines were ceded to the US as a result of the war, rather than grant independence, the were retained as a colony. This ignited a brutal civil war that was only put down by ruthless measures, which, in turn, generated some war crimes trials directed at the US officers in charge there. Nobody was found guilty of those charges and most emerged from this period with their reputations intact, especially the main character of the story, Teddy Roosevelt.
I give this book a high recommendation.
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