George Bronson Rea, Propagandist : The Life and Times of a Mercenary Journalist

George Bronson Rea, Propagandist is a biography that reveals what led a controversial journalist, publisher, engineer, spy, lobbyist, blackmailer, and fortune hunter to go from exposing yellow journalism during the Spanish-American War to becoming a propagandist advocating for the Japanese takeover of Manchuria.

George Bronson Rea, Propagandist brings to life the extraordinary story of a journalist, publisher, engineer, spy, lobbyist, blackmailer and fortune hunter, who represents twentieth century journalism gone awry. Rea’s career as a foreign correspondent and then magazine publisher illuminates essential issues of journalistic ethics that still resonate in today’s world, and provides a fascinating look at international relations and U.S. history from the Spanish-American War to the Great Depression. This is also a who’s who biography including Rea’s connection to: U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, historic icons William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Pulitzer, J.P Morgan, writer Stephen Crane, China’s revolutionary hero Sun Yat-sen and many others. The biography reveals what made Rea switch from being a trusted “old China hand” to betraying his allies to become a propagandist for Japan’s invasion and take-over of Manchuria.