The Path to War
How the First World War Created Modern America
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
When war broke out in Europe in August of 1914, it seemed, to observers in the United States, the height of madness. The Old World and its empires were tearing each other apart, and while most Americans blamed the Germans, pitied the Belgians, and felt kinship with the Allies, they wanted no part in the carnage. Two years into war President Woodrow Wilson won re-election by pledging to keep out of the conflict. Yet by the spring of 1917-by which point millions had been killed for little apparent gain or purpose-the fervor to head “Over There” swept the country. America wanted in.
The Path to War shows us how that happened. Entry into the war resulted from lengthy debate and soul-searching about national identity, as so-called “hyphenated citizens” of Irish and German heritage wrestled with what it meant to be American. Many hoped to keep to the moral high ground, condemning German aggression while withholding from the Allies active support, offering to mediate between the belligerents while keeping clear. Others, including the immensely popular former president Theodore Roosevelt, were convinced that war offered the country the only way to assume its rightful place in world affairs. Neiberg follows American reaction to such events as the sinking of the Lusitania, German terrorism, and the incriminating Zimmermann telegram, shedding light on the dilemmas and crises the country faced as it moved from ambivalence to belligerence.
As we approach the centenary of the war, the effects of the pivot from peace to war still resonate, as Michael Neiberg's compelling book makes clear. The war transformed the United States into a financial powerhouse and global player, despite the reassertion of isolationism in the years that followed. Examining the social, political, and financial forces at work as well as the role of public opinion and popular culture, The Path to War offers both a compelling narrative and the inescapable conclusion that World War One was no parenthetical exception in the American story but a moment of national self-determination.
Customer Reviews
Half way there
This book definitely describes the debate in the United States in the years that led up to President Wilson's declaration of war. There is some interesting stuff, such as that there was essentially no standing U.S. army, but rather state National Guard units. Fine. But what about the second part of the title, "How the First World War Created Modern America"? Not so much. There is a final chapter, entitled "Conclusion," that talks about how World War I has largely left our consciousness, replaced by World War II, and pointing out that a lot of place names in the United States that include the word "memorial" are references to World War I. So is Soldier Field. And that's about it. I was expecting the author to attempt some sort of link between World War I and the world today, such as, for example, the whole Middle East mess, but nothing. It's as if the second part of the title was added by the marketers, since few people today would be all that interested in a book, however scholarly (and this one is scholarly) detailing the blow by blow of how American public and political opinion evolved to where we entered the First World War. So, three stars because it's well written and full of information, but only three stars because it doesn't deliver on the promised insights as to why we're the way we are today.