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Chronicles of America #48
The Chronicles of America Serie; Volume 48
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
420 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1921
About the author
Allen Johnson
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There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 1, 2020
A good chronology of Wilson's actions and attitudes with respect to World War I. The book endorses the standard interpretation of Wilson: An idealistic pacifist who was willing to fight to achieve an enduring peace, but with insufficient domestic political skill to give his hopes a realistic chance of success.
Two items of Wilson's history were not evaluated as deeply by the author as I would have liked.
First, Seymour believes the compromises Wilson made before he left Paris were the best deal he could achieve. But did he sacrifice too much? Even observers at the time noted, the reparations imposed on Germany, although perhaps just in a moral sense, could never be repaid in a practical sense. The seeds of world war two were planted in the peace accord of World War I. Wilson the idealist knew better, but he was overcome by the politics of the day. A deeper discussion of this is needed for a book of this type.
Second, Wilson's success as a war leader is mostly noteworthy. The harnessing of the national economic might was impressive. However two caveats were not at all addressed by this book. What injuries to Civil Liberties accompanied the war mobilization? It is one untold story of American History and it at least deserved mention, and evaluation, of the cost and benefits in term of long term national health. Also no mention is made of the great influenza of 1918. Wilson's public health policy in the midst of this war was non-existent. That is it not mentioned at all is a serious shortcoming of this and many books on World War I. The so-called Spanish Flu of 1918 was probably responsible for more casualties than deaths on the battlefield. Also, Wilson's himself may have contracted this flu. This may account for his infirmities and loss of resolve in Paris, and his subsequent stroke after he returned home. How this receives not a word of mention in a purported history of Wilson and war is a major and irresponsible failing of an otherwise decent historical account.
To be fair, it should be noted that this book was first published in 1921, thus some of my foregoing criticism makes use of the 100 years of additional history that was not available to the author.
Two items of Wilson's history were not evaluated as deeply by the author as I would have liked.
First, Seymour believes the compromises Wilson made before he left Paris were the best deal he could achieve. But did he sacrifice too much? Even observers at the time noted, the reparations imposed on Germany, although perhaps just in a moral sense, could never be repaid in a practical sense. The seeds of world war two were planted in the peace accord of World War I. Wilson the idealist knew better, but he was overcome by the politics of the day. A deeper discussion of this is needed for a book of this type.
Second, Wilson's success as a war leader is mostly noteworthy. The harnessing of the national economic might was impressive. However two caveats were not at all addressed by this book. What injuries to Civil Liberties accompanied the war mobilization? It is one untold story of American History and it at least deserved mention, and evaluation, of the cost and benefits in term of long term national health. Also no mention is made of the great influenza of 1918. Wilson's public health policy in the midst of this war was non-existent. That is it not mentioned at all is a serious shortcoming of this and many books on World War I. The so-called Spanish Flu of 1918 was probably responsible for more casualties than deaths on the battlefield. Also, Wilson's himself may have contracted this flu. This may account for his infirmities and loss of resolve in Paris, and his subsequent stroke after he returned home. How this receives not a word of mention in a purported history of Wilson and war is a major and irresponsible failing of an otherwise decent historical account.
To be fair, it should be noted that this book was first published in 1921, thus some of my foregoing criticism makes use of the 100 years of additional history that was not available to the author.
July 16, 2010
This book is a republishing of a 1921 original that I happen to have. I found it in an antique shop in Galena, IL.
Because it was written right after the "Great War" it is a fantastic historical image of how contemporaries viewed the war, its causes, results, and how Woodrow Wilson managed and used it to further his ideological goal of Collective Security. It really is a great contemporary look of the situations surrounding the United States and World War I. It also has some previews of future prominent Americans such as Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt, before they were Presidents. Again a true historical window.
Because it was written right after the "Great War" it is a fantastic historical image of how contemporaries viewed the war, its causes, results, and how Woodrow Wilson managed and used it to further his ideological goal of Collective Security. It really is a great contemporary look of the situations surrounding the United States and World War I. It also has some previews of future prominent Americans such as Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt, before they were Presidents. Again a true historical window.
January 26, 2015
I didn't think it was that bad. But maybe uneven is a critique that may apply.
It wants me to know more so it that sense it wasn't so bad at all.
It wants me to know more so it that sense it wasn't so bad at all.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews