in Los Angeles, to produce a dramatized version of The Ling Chee in the fall of 1907, but nothing came of the venture. Lea subsequently wrote a dramatized version of his novel that he renamed The Crimson Spider. In 1922, Japanese-born Sessue Hayakawa, a leading Hollywood film star and movie producer, adapted The Vermilion Pencil to the screen. Lea's second book, The Valor of Ignorance, examined American defense and in part prophesied a war between America and Japan. It created controversy and instantly elevated his reputation as a credible geo-political spokesman. Two retired U.S. Army generals, including former Army Chief-of-Staff Adna Chaffee, wrote glowing introductions to the book, which also contained a striking frontispiece photograph of Lea in his lieutenant general's uniform. The book contained maps of a hypothetical Japanese invasion of California and the Philippines and was very popular among American military officers, particularly those stationed in the Philippines over the next generation. General Douglas MacArthur and his staff, for example, paid close attention to the book in planning the defense of the Philippines. The Japanese military also paid close attention to the book, which was translated into Japanese. Lea accurately predicted that the Japanese would capture Manila after landing at Lingayen Gulf, and that the city would fall in three weeks. The book sold over 84,000 copies in its first three months after publication, and Lea donated the royalties to Sun Yat-sen. Carey McWilliams attributed to this book's depiction of a local fifth column the instigation of the modern anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States that would eventually lead to the internment of Japanese Americans. Lea's final book, The Day of the Saxon, repeated the prophecy of war between America and Japan, and was written partly at the request of British Field Marshal Lord Roberts, who asked that Lea make a similar evaluation for the British Empire. Japan, The Day of the Saxon asserted, must gain control of the Pacific before extending her sovereignty on the Asian continent. Japan's maritime frontiers must extend eastward of the Hawaiian Islands and southward of the Philippines. "Because of this Japan draws near to her next war—a war with America—by which she expects to lay the true foundation of her greatness." (1912: 92). Lea criticized the United States for its "indifference," party politics, and the lack of militarism which increase the chance of victory for Japan (1912: 92–93). The Day of the