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Mr. Wilson's War: From the Assassination of McKinley to the Defeat of the League of Nations
Beginning with the assassination of McKinley and ending with the defeat of the League of Nations by the United States Senate, the twenty-year period covered by John Dos Passos in this lucid and fascinating narrative changed the whole destiny of America. This is the story of the war we won and the peace we lost, told with a clear historical perspective and a warm interest in the remarkable people who guided the United States through one of the most crucial periods.
Foremost in the cast of characters is Woodrow Wilson, the shy, brilliant, revered, and misunderstood “schoolmaster,” whose administration was a complex of apparent contradictions. Wilson had almost no interest in foreign affairs when he was first elected, yet later, in proposing the League of Nations, he was to play a major role in international politics. During his first summer in office, without any previous experience in banking, he pushed through the Federal Reserve Bank Act, perhaps his most lasting contribution. Reelected in 1916 on the rallying cry, “He kept us out of war,” he shortly found himself and his country inextricably involved in the European conflict.
John Dos Passos has brilliantly coordinated the political, the military, and the economic themes so that the story line never falters. First published in 1962, Mr. Wilson’s War is one of the great books and an addition of major stature to any reader’s library
Foremost in the cast of characters is Woodrow Wilson, the shy, brilliant, revered, and misunderstood “schoolmaster,” whose administration was a complex of apparent contradictions. Wilson had almost no interest in foreign affairs when he was first elected, yet later, in proposing the League of Nations, he was to play a major role in international politics. During his first summer in office, without any previous experience in banking, he pushed through the Federal Reserve Bank Act, perhaps his most lasting contribution. Reelected in 1916 on the rallying cry, “He kept us out of war,” he shortly found himself and his country inextricably involved in the European conflict.
John Dos Passos has brilliantly coordinated the political, the military, and the economic themes so that the story line never falters. First published in 1962, Mr. Wilson’s War is one of the great books and an addition of major stature to any reader’s library
839 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1962
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About the author
John Dos Passos
214 books589 followersJohn Dos Passos was a prominent American novelist, artist, and political thinker best known for his U.S.A. trilogy—The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money—a groundbreaking work of modernist fiction that employed experimental narrative techniques to depict the complexities of early 20th-century American life. Born in Chicago in 1896, he was educated at Harvard and served as an ambulance driver during World War I, experiences that deeply influenced his early literary themes. His first novel, One Man’s Initiation: 1917, and the antiwar Three Soldiers drew on his wartime observations and marked him as a major voice among the Lost Generation.
Dos Passos’s 1925 novel Manhattan Transfer brought him widespread recognition and introduced stylistic innovations that would define his later work. His U.S.A. trilogy fused fiction, biography, newsreel-style reportage, and autobiographical “Camera Eye” sections to explore the impact of capitalism, war, and political disillusionment on the American psyche. Once aligned with leftist politics, Dos Passos grew increasingly disillusioned with Communism, especially after the murder of his friend José Robles during the Spanish Civil War—a turning point that led to a break with Ernest Hemingway and a sharp turn toward conservatism.
Throughout his career, Dos Passos remained politically engaged, writing essays, journalism, and historical studies while also campaigning for right-leaning figures like Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon in the 1960s. He contributed to publications such as American Heritage, National Review, and The Freeman, and published over forty books including biographies and historical reflections. Despite political shifts, his commitment to liberty and skepticism of authoritarianism remained central themes.
Also a visual artist, Dos Passos created cover art and illustrations for many of his own books, exhibiting a style influenced by modernist European art. Though less acclaimed for his painting, he remained artistically active throughout his life. His multidisciplinary approach and innovations in narrative structure influenced numerous writers and filmmakers, from Jean-Paul Sartre to Norman Mailer and Adam Curtis.
Later recognized with the Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for literature in 1967, Dos Passos’s legacy endures through his literary innovations and sharp commentary on American identity. He died in 1970, leaving behind a vast and diverse body of work that continues to shape the landscape of American fiction.
Dos Passos’s 1925 novel Manhattan Transfer brought him widespread recognition and introduced stylistic innovations that would define his later work. His U.S.A. trilogy fused fiction, biography, newsreel-style reportage, and autobiographical “Camera Eye” sections to explore the impact of capitalism, war, and political disillusionment on the American psyche. Once aligned with leftist politics, Dos Passos grew increasingly disillusioned with Communism, especially after the murder of his friend José Robles during the Spanish Civil War—a turning point that led to a break with Ernest Hemingway and a sharp turn toward conservatism.
Throughout his career, Dos Passos remained politically engaged, writing essays, journalism, and historical studies while also campaigning for right-leaning figures like Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon in the 1960s. He contributed to publications such as American Heritage, National Review, and The Freeman, and published over forty books including biographies and historical reflections. Despite political shifts, his commitment to liberty and skepticism of authoritarianism remained central themes.
Also a visual artist, Dos Passos created cover art and illustrations for many of his own books, exhibiting a style influenced by modernist European art. Though less acclaimed for his painting, he remained artistically active throughout his life. His multidisciplinary approach and innovations in narrative structure influenced numerous writers and filmmakers, from Jean-Paul Sartre to Norman Mailer and Adam Curtis.
Later recognized with the Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for literature in 1967, Dos Passos’s legacy endures through his literary innovations and sharp commentary on American identity. He died in 1970, leaving behind a vast and diverse body of work that continues to shape the landscape of American fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 11, 2023
Mr. Wilson’s War is a title that accurately advertises the book’s content. It is a history of World War I that focuses on American reaction and participation as curated and helmed by President Woodrow Wilson. Because of its Wilson centered focus, the history begins in 1901 with the assassination of President McKinley. This allows Dos Passos to sketch out the development of the American political scene in the first decade of the 20th century and to show the rise of Wilson within that greater context. By the time he comes to the war years, the reader already has a basic understanding of Wilson, and can better conceptualize why he acted as he did.
Significant section of Mr. Wilson’s War are history as biography. Dos Passos introduces important figures — Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, Colonel Edward House, General Pershing, Wilson himself, and others — then goes into detailed, mini biographies of them from their youth onward. (Readers of Dos Passos’s masterful USA Trilogy will recognize this technique.)
The book is strongest when delving into the politics and the behind the scenes maneuvering of the war and events leading to America’s entry. It also does a decent job of showing how Wilson’s arrogance and intransigence made a mess of the peace. It is not a book for any in depth look at the causes of the war or detailed exploration of the battlefront before America’s entry. It is at its weakest when describing frontline action and actual battles, so if that is your major interest you should look elsewhere.
This is definitely a niche history of the war, best read by those with a deep interest and looking to read widely about it. If you are only looking for a general history of the First World War, this isn’t the book for you.
Significant section of Mr. Wilson’s War are history as biography. Dos Passos introduces important figures — Theodore Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, Colonel Edward House, General Pershing, Wilson himself, and others — then goes into detailed, mini biographies of them from their youth onward. (Readers of Dos Passos’s masterful USA Trilogy will recognize this technique.)
The book is strongest when delving into the politics and the behind the scenes maneuvering of the war and events leading to America’s entry. It also does a decent job of showing how Wilson’s arrogance and intransigence made a mess of the peace. It is not a book for any in depth look at the causes of the war or detailed exploration of the battlefront before America’s entry. It is at its weakest when describing frontline action and actual battles, so if that is your major interest you should look elsewhere.
This is definitely a niche history of the war, best read by those with a deep interest and looking to read widely about it. If you are only looking for a general history of the First World War, this isn’t the book for you.
October 12, 2014
Of all the works of non-fiction I've read thus far this year, this book has the twin virtues of readability (which, given its size, means a lot) and comprehensiveness. Dos Passos shares with the reader his guiding principle he followed in crafting "Mr Wilson's War", which was as follows: "My method was to try to relate the experiences of the assorted personalities and their assorted justifications to my own recollections of childhood and youth during those years; and to seek out, wherever possible, the private letter, the unguarded entry in the diary, the newsreport made on the spur of the moment." By and large, he has succeeded, giving the reader grand views of a unique period in U.S. history (from 1901 --- with some rich insights into the first term of President William McKinley, which had begun in 1897, during which time personalities like William Jennings Bryan and Theodore Roosevelt, who was then McKinley's Assistant Secretary of the Navy, later serving as Vice President during McKinley's second term, came into prominence in the national consciousness --- to 1920, following the failure of Woodrow Wilson to convince the U.S. Senate to ratify the Versailles Treaty and join the League of Nations.
With the verve and dash of a skilled portrait painter, Dos Passos offers the reader colorful and revealing insights of several key players of the period --- e.g., Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft (who followed Roosevelt as President), Woodrow Wilson, Edith Galt Wilson (Wilson's second wife), Elihu Root, Colonel Edward House (at one time, Wilson's closest confidant and 'second brain'), William Gibbs McAdoo (Wilson's son-in-law, a can-do man and perhaps the most able and effective member of Wilson's Cabinet), British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, Charles Evans Hughes (who stepped down from the Supreme Court to run against Wilson in 1916), Leonard Wood (the Army's highest ranking officer at the time of U.S. entry into the First World War in April 1917 who was a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt; both were fierce critics of Woodrow Wilson), General John J. Pershing (the commander of the American Expeditionary Force - AEF - in France during the war, who struggled mightily in insisting to both the British and French that an American Army be allowed to fight the Germans, rather than have soldiers from its ranks parceled out to fill gaps in the armies of Britain and France --- the singular exception to this was the U.S. 93rd Infantry Division [African American], which Pershing loaned to the French without demur; there the 93rd distinguished themselves in battle), Newton Baker (the Secretary of War), Robert Lansing (Wilson's Secretary of State after William Jennings Bryan had resigned the post in 1915 following a disagreement with Wilson over wartime policy vis-a-vis the Allies and Germany), British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French Premier Georges Clemenceau (nicknamed "The Tiger" for his forceful, fiery personality), and a host of other minor - though no less fascinating - characters in the military, political, and journalistic realms --- as well as the diplomatic corps.
The reader who takes the plunge into this juicy and magisterial book will be in for a real treat. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
With the verve and dash of a skilled portrait painter, Dos Passos offers the reader colorful and revealing insights of several key players of the period --- e.g., Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft (who followed Roosevelt as President), Woodrow Wilson, Edith Galt Wilson (Wilson's second wife), Elihu Root, Colonel Edward House (at one time, Wilson's closest confidant and 'second brain'), William Gibbs McAdoo (Wilson's son-in-law, a can-do man and perhaps the most able and effective member of Wilson's Cabinet), British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, Charles Evans Hughes (who stepped down from the Supreme Court to run against Wilson in 1916), Leonard Wood (the Army's highest ranking officer at the time of U.S. entry into the First World War in April 1917 who was a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt; both were fierce critics of Woodrow Wilson), General John J. Pershing (the commander of the American Expeditionary Force - AEF - in France during the war, who struggled mightily in insisting to both the British and French that an American Army be allowed to fight the Germans, rather than have soldiers from its ranks parceled out to fill gaps in the armies of Britain and France --- the singular exception to this was the U.S. 93rd Infantry Division [African American], which Pershing loaned to the French without demur; there the 93rd distinguished themselves in battle), Newton Baker (the Secretary of War), Robert Lansing (Wilson's Secretary of State after William Jennings Bryan had resigned the post in 1915 following a disagreement with Wilson over wartime policy vis-a-vis the Allies and Germany), British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French Premier Georges Clemenceau (nicknamed "The Tiger" for his forceful, fiery personality), and a host of other minor - though no less fascinating - characters in the military, political, and journalistic realms --- as well as the diplomatic corps.
The reader who takes the plunge into this juicy and magisterial book will be in for a real treat. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
February 27, 2020
John Dos Passos is an historian whose name I have come across multiple times while reading other books, typically cited in various works. So, I thought I would read one of his own books. Maybe I picked the wrong book, but his review of American history from the WWI era left me wishing I had decided to read something else instead.
Written in a breezy style (Dos Passos often dispenses with first names of peripheral figures, apparently assuming that his audience already knows who he is talking about), this effort seemed to lack the modern academic expectations and rigors of producing a work of history. Assuming a familiarity with historical figures, one your audience may or may not have, is a questionable method of writing. Were I not familiar from reading other books about this time period, I would have struggled to understand who many of the people mentioned were. The book is not written in an academic tone, so I am really not sure why Dos Passos wrote this way. Perhaps that was his style.
The book ostensibly covers the first two decades of the 20th century. However, the 1900s decade gets far less attention, with much of that space devoted to Theodore Roosevelt's fights with William Howard Taft. This is not a comprehensive look at Roosevelt's presidency, nor at Taft's. It seemed that Dos Passos was setting the stage for the advent of Woodrow Wilson, but he did not do a particularly good job of it. The 1912 presidential election is covered, but not in riveting detail. Dos Passos seems more interested in asserting how Roosevelt wrecked the Republican Party's chances that year, allowing Wilson to become a minority President.
He then abruptly shifts gears and launches into WWI in Europe. For awhile, this reads more as a military history, with detailed descriptions of battles. After focusing largely on domestic American politics for the first parts, this was unexpected. And while Dos Passos examines some of the French fears about Germany, that of the British and Italians, not to mention many other countries and territories (such as the Ottoman Empire) are lightly touched upon. His main premise seemed to be that Wilson bungled U.S. involvement in the war, and personalized it in his own terms to ultimately make it a referendum on him. I do not disagree with Dos Passos, generally, regarding this view, but the writing just did not seem up to par for me (for instance, he kept referring to Germans as "krauts" - I doubt you would see that mentioned, especially repeatedly, today).
There were also some factual errors that I found, which makes me wonder how many more errors there were that I simply did not know enough about to catch. For instance, he says that Roosevelt was 61 in 1918 (page 432). No, he turned 60 in October of that year, and died a few months later. He never lived to be 61. That is the kind of error that is pretty basic - all you need to do is look up the man's birth date and date of death and then do math. He also stated that Warren Harding "...died of poisoning attributed to an Alaskan crab..." (page 498). That is the first time I have read that anywhere. Items such as these make me question the legitimacy of the rest of the book.
Grade: D-
Written in a breezy style (Dos Passos often dispenses with first names of peripheral figures, apparently assuming that his audience already knows who he is talking about), this effort seemed to lack the modern academic expectations and rigors of producing a work of history. Assuming a familiarity with historical figures, one your audience may or may not have, is a questionable method of writing. Were I not familiar from reading other books about this time period, I would have struggled to understand who many of the people mentioned were. The book is not written in an academic tone, so I am really not sure why Dos Passos wrote this way. Perhaps that was his style.
The book ostensibly covers the first two decades of the 20th century. However, the 1900s decade gets far less attention, with much of that space devoted to Theodore Roosevelt's fights with William Howard Taft. This is not a comprehensive look at Roosevelt's presidency, nor at Taft's. It seemed that Dos Passos was setting the stage for the advent of Woodrow Wilson, but he did not do a particularly good job of it. The 1912 presidential election is covered, but not in riveting detail. Dos Passos seems more interested in asserting how Roosevelt wrecked the Republican Party's chances that year, allowing Wilson to become a minority President.
He then abruptly shifts gears and launches into WWI in Europe. For awhile, this reads more as a military history, with detailed descriptions of battles. After focusing largely on domestic American politics for the first parts, this was unexpected. And while Dos Passos examines some of the French fears about Germany, that of the British and Italians, not to mention many other countries and territories (such as the Ottoman Empire) are lightly touched upon. His main premise seemed to be that Wilson bungled U.S. involvement in the war, and personalized it in his own terms to ultimately make it a referendum on him. I do not disagree with Dos Passos, generally, regarding this view, but the writing just did not seem up to par for me (for instance, he kept referring to Germans as "krauts" - I doubt you would see that mentioned, especially repeatedly, today).
There were also some factual errors that I found, which makes me wonder how many more errors there were that I simply did not know enough about to catch. For instance, he says that Roosevelt was 61 in 1918 (page 432). No, he turned 60 in October of that year, and died a few months later. He never lived to be 61. That is the kind of error that is pretty basic - all you need to do is look up the man's birth date and date of death and then do math. He also stated that Warren Harding "...died of poisoning attributed to an Alaskan crab..." (page 498). That is the first time I have read that anywhere. Items such as these make me question the legitimacy of the rest of the book.
Grade: D-
March 18, 2014
Written in 1962, this is an older, more conservative Dos Passos than the idealistic writer of the USA Trilogy. Indeed, it is interesting to compare and contrast his treatment of such factors as the Socialist and Communist parties, Eugene Debs and the Industrial Workers of the World. Here the 'hero' is Thomas Woodrow Wilson in what amounts to a biography cum history. This is not to say that Dos Passos is oblivious to the President's flaws--he did, after all, jail many of the author's early heroes and attempted wholesale censorship during the war--but it is a generally sympathetic study.
February 8, 2015
Wonderfully written. It is a pleasure reading history written by a novelist rather than a historian. I only hope that Dos Passos didn't shade the history to fit the prose. I don't really think he did, but one never knows.
For most of the way though the book I was fully intending to give it 5 stars, but there are important issues that should have been addressed but weren't:
1) A better understanding of why the the war started in the first place. I know my schoolboy history of entangling alliances creating a tinderbox, but there is surely more than that.
2) Wilson's fundamentally dictatorial governance approach to the war, imprisoning dissenters and so on.
3) What were the Republican's reasons for opposing the League of Nations.
I'm also interested in how, to take Dos Passos literally, how someone who is supposedly a classical liberal until after he was elected president could turn into such an anti-(classical) liberal by inauguration day. I'm sure that there is a bigger story behind that, but it doesn't immediately pertain to WWI.
For most of the way though the book I was fully intending to give it 5 stars, but there are important issues that should have been addressed but weren't:
1) A better understanding of why the the war started in the first place. I know my schoolboy history of entangling alliances creating a tinderbox, but there is surely more than that.
2) Wilson's fundamentally dictatorial governance approach to the war, imprisoning dissenters and so on.
3) What were the Republican's reasons for opposing the League of Nations.
I'm also interested in how, to take Dos Passos literally, how someone who is supposedly a classical liberal until after he was elected president could turn into such an anti-(classical) liberal by inauguration day. I'm sure that there is a bigger story behind that, but it doesn't immediately pertain to WWI.
May 11, 2015
Very interesting take on President Wilson and partisan politics in WW1
Very good historical account albeit it is a tad biased. The authors is descriptive about the players in history he does not like. Theodore Roosevelt is his favorite target in this regard. Other than a few instances it does not affect the flavor of the story and the author seems to speak as Wilson. The impact of his second wife and how history may have been changed had his first wife lived is a compelling story to ponder as well.
Very good historical account albeit it is a tad biased. The authors is descriptive about the players in history he does not like. Theodore Roosevelt is his favorite target in this regard. Other than a few instances it does not affect the flavor of the story and the author seems to speak as Wilson. The impact of his second wife and how history may have been changed had his first wife lived is a compelling story to ponder as well.
December 4, 2017
Great one-volume coverage of the War and the Wilson presidency. Dos Passos managed to make it pretty thorough without being overly detailed.
May 18, 2019
Incredibly detailed, almost too detailed. It really lagged in parts, but an interesting look at a lesser known part of history.
July 23, 2023
Excellent history with much helpful detail
July 16, 2021
Mr Wilson's War by John Dos Passos
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
John Dos Passos started out his career as a socialist author in the 1920s after a stint as an ambulance driver during World War I. When I saw this book, I assumed that it had been written in his earlier radical years, but, in fact, it was written in the early 1960s after his conservative turn.
Based on my false assumption, I thought that this was going to be an indictment of war profiteering and the kind of things that the younger Dos Passos attacked so fiercely in his USA trilogy. In fact, though, this is an engaging and insightful history book. Dos Passos begins with President McKinley in the late 1890s and basically follows presidential politics through to the last years of the Wilson administration.
I learned a lot from this book, although I have read a few books on World War I. Dos Passos has a nice way of humanizing his subjects and presenting them as multi-dimensional human beings. The relationship between Woodrow Wilson and his advisor, the "confidential colonel," Edward Mandell House is a major feature of the latter part of the book. I had read of House previously, but I had not appreciated the extent of House's representation of Wilson or Wilson's dependence on House. Likewise, I knew that Wilson's wife was named Edith, but I hadn't known that Wilson's first wife died during his first term of office, or that he had remarried during his second term.
As I was reading this book, I was put in mind that the years between 1916 and 1918 looked a lot like the present era. Wilson was re-elected after a heavily contested election. Wilson won only when California's votes were finally totaled and he won by less than 4,000 votes. Likewise, in our era of cancel culture and manufactured outrage, Wilson pioneered censorship measures to silence opponents of the war. And, of course, the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak is the modern pandemic by which we measure the 2020 pandemic.
I think my favorite feature of Dos Passos's USA trilogy was his short biographies that were peppered throughout the books. Dos Passos always had a nice way of getting to the nub of the person he was talking about and presenting that person in a sympathetic way. He approaches historical figures in a way that treats them as fallible human beings and yet preserves their dignity.
This is a first-rate history book that is worth the investment of time.
Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
John Dos Passos started out his career as a socialist author in the 1920s after a stint as an ambulance driver during World War I. When I saw this book, I assumed that it had been written in his earlier radical years, but, in fact, it was written in the early 1960s after his conservative turn.
Based on my false assumption, I thought that this was going to be an indictment of war profiteering and the kind of things that the younger Dos Passos attacked so fiercely in his USA trilogy. In fact, though, this is an engaging and insightful history book. Dos Passos begins with President McKinley in the late 1890s and basically follows presidential politics through to the last years of the Wilson administration.
I learned a lot from this book, although I have read a few books on World War I. Dos Passos has a nice way of humanizing his subjects and presenting them as multi-dimensional human beings. The relationship between Woodrow Wilson and his advisor, the "confidential colonel," Edward Mandell House is a major feature of the latter part of the book. I had read of House previously, but I had not appreciated the extent of House's representation of Wilson or Wilson's dependence on House. Likewise, I knew that Wilson's wife was named Edith, but I hadn't known that Wilson's first wife died during his first term of office, or that he had remarried during his second term.
As I was reading this book, I was put in mind that the years between 1916 and 1918 looked a lot like the present era. Wilson was re-elected after a heavily contested election. Wilson won only when California's votes were finally totaled and he won by less than 4,000 votes. Likewise, in our era of cancel culture and manufactured outrage, Wilson pioneered censorship measures to silence opponents of the war. And, of course, the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak is the modern pandemic by which we measure the 2020 pandemic.
I think my favorite feature of Dos Passos's USA trilogy was his short biographies that were peppered throughout the books. Dos Passos always had a nice way of getting to the nub of the person he was talking about and presenting that person in a sympathetic way. He approaches historical figures in a way that treats them as fallible human beings and yet preserves their dignity.
This is a first-rate history book that is worth the investment of time.
April 2, 2015
John Dos Passos is known for his U.S.A. Trilogy, which, if you haven't read, do so now. It is brilliant.
This book is his history of the events that lead to WW I--calling it Mr. Wilson's War seems unfair and I'm not sure Dos Passos makes that case. However, it's a great review of the period leading to Wilson's election, his attempts to keep the US out of the war, and his eventual realization that we needed to fight, and of course the disappointment of the League of Nations as well as the disaster that is the Versailles Treaty.
When Dos Passos gets into the details, he recreates the atmosphere of the time. His description of the trench warfare is heartbreaking in the number of men killed stupidly--sent by the brass who didn't know how to fight a "modern war." Dos Passos' details of the utter confusion in Russia after the Communist take-over was also compelling.
A good review or a good introduction. And of course, well-written.
This book is his history of the events that lead to WW I--calling it Mr. Wilson's War seems unfair and I'm not sure Dos Passos makes that case. However, it's a great review of the period leading to Wilson's election, his attempts to keep the US out of the war, and his eventual realization that we needed to fight, and of course the disappointment of the League of Nations as well as the disaster that is the Versailles Treaty.
When Dos Passos gets into the details, he recreates the atmosphere of the time. His description of the trench warfare is heartbreaking in the number of men killed stupidly--sent by the brass who didn't know how to fight a "modern war." Dos Passos' details of the utter confusion in Russia after the Communist take-over was also compelling.
A good review or a good introduction. And of course, well-written.
August 7, 2019
John Dos Passos wrote this work as part of a series on American History. I'd read a lot of histories around World War I recently, due to the centenary, but this is first one to tell the history of the war from the American perspective.
Almost every part of this book that did not deal with the minutiae of domestic politics were very engaging, and I learned a lot of the characters of the primary actors. Wilson's authoritarian impulses were no less alarming in retrospect, and probably especially because of the current resonances and dictatorial tendencies of the current executive.
The final defeat of the League of Nations is heartbreaking in its un-necessity as well as the pathos of Clemenceau and Lloyd George realizing that the Treaty of Versailles had sown the seeds of spite. That such a noble endeavor could be undermined by the obstinacy of Edith Wilson and the intractability of a few key players at the wrong time is a disheartening lesson on the hinges of history.
Almost every part of this book that did not deal with the minutiae of domestic politics were very engaging, and I learned a lot of the characters of the primary actors. Wilson's authoritarian impulses were no less alarming in retrospect, and probably especially because of the current resonances and dictatorial tendencies of the current executive.
The final defeat of the League of Nations is heartbreaking in its un-necessity as well as the pathos of Clemenceau and Lloyd George realizing that the Treaty of Versailles had sown the seeds of spite. That such a noble endeavor could be undermined by the obstinacy of Edith Wilson and the intractability of a few key players at the wrong time is a disheartening lesson on the hinges of history.
July 16, 2016
This is the most interesting book I have ever read about WWI. Most books about this war focus on the horrible conditions faced by the soldiers and the ungodly body counts. This book has some gore, but spends most of its efforts on the politics and the actions of Woodrow Wilson. I had never read a book from this point of view, so all I got was an overview in class. This book was fascinating. I can only be glad that Wilson died before Hitler and WWII. This would have killed him, certainly.
March 28, 2015
In lucid, at times lyrical, prose, John Dos Passos narrates American history from the Assassination of President McKinley to the death of former President Wilson ... dwells in great detail on America's role in the 1st World War ... and the tragedy of the Versailles Peace ... well worth reading, especially when combined with "When the Cheering Stopped" ...
March 9, 2015
Comprehensive History
This account covers a period of history from McKinley's assassination to the defeat of the League of Nations in the U.S. Senate. It covers a lot of history and personalities surrounding Woodrow Wilson.
It glosses over the creation of the Federal Reserve, but there are plenty of other books on that subject.
This account covers a period of history from McKinley's assassination to the defeat of the League of Nations in the U.S. Senate. It covers a lot of history and personalities surrounding Woodrow Wilson.
It glosses over the creation of the Federal Reserve, but there are plenty of other books on that subject.
October 25, 2016
Author John Dos Passos provides the reader with a lengthy and tedious volume of information describing how the US got involved in World War I and the lengthy and tiresome discussion of the negotiations which culminated in the Treaty of Versailles, which ended the war. I will avoid other works from this author in the future.
December 26, 2018
The League of Nations: What Happened?
I finished the book with a tremendous sadness and sense of loss for what might have been. The Great War could never be the War to End All Wars, the high ideals of the League never had a chance, given the need for vengeance, and Wilson was a tragic hero, undone by hubris. All of this is valuable context for these times we are living in.
I finished the book with a tremendous sadness and sense of loss for what might have been. The Great War could never be the War to End All Wars, the high ideals of the League never had a chance, given the need for vengeance, and Wilson was a tragic hero, undone by hubris. All of this is valuable context for these times we are living in.
June 27, 2019
A Novelist's History
Loved Dos Passos' USA novels. His take on history brings the movement's story telling ability to the story telling of history. That said, the eBook needs some serious proof reading. There are serious scanning errors in it.
Loved Dos Passos' USA novels. His take on history brings the movement's story telling ability to the story telling of history. That said, the eBook needs some serious proof reading. There are serious scanning errors in it.
September 4, 2016
Very readable and opinionated. If you're only going to read one book about WWI and you want the American perspective, this is the one.
September 11, 2018
This is a wonderful book. The book is very readable, as well as informative.
July 26, 2021
Having read Manhattan Transfer, and his famous trilogy (The 42nd Parallel, 1919 and The Big Money, I was shocked to see a book like this, a historical biography, written by John Dos Passos. It didn’t occur to me that a fiction writers as experimental as Dos Passos tended to be, with his nonlinear quick-vignette style, would execute a genre that really requires ordinary conventional writing. Based on the political tone of Dos Passos’ famous novels, published between 1925 and 1936, most definitely did not expect a balanced treatment of Woodrow Wilson and WWI in this work. Dos Passos was, after all, far out on the political left.
Mr. Wilson’s War, published in 1962, therefore came off to me as quite a shock. It was, at the very least, a well written and balanced treatment of the subjects but actually, I’d say the tone toward Wilson was somewhat admiring. Looking up more about Dos Passos, I learned that his views had evolved quite a bit as he aged (and after he visited the Soviet Union) to the point where he wound up having supported presidential bids by Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater.
I think the writing of the book, where it stands relative to the whole of Dos Passos life and works pretty much matches the sense one gets of Wilson himself. Dos Passos and Wilson both illustrate the tremendous and often unappreciated nuance that is applicable to just about all of human affairs and to life in general.
There is much more to the avant garde socialist-leaning lefty Dos Passos seemed, early on to be. He was actually a thoughtful person, scholar and artist who reacted to the world as he saw it and was not afraid to evolve as time passes and new information came to light.
Similarly, there is much more to Woodrow Wilson than the wishy-washy reluctant war monger and ex post facto racist many now seem him as.
He started life in the South in 1856, grew up as a subject of the Confederate States of America, and along with many around him, was reluctantly pulled into the U.S., probably kicking and screaming, during the chaotic and often violent post-Civil War reconstruction era. Those who nowadays react with horror to Wilson’s having viewed race in terms we today find unacceptable need to get over their sophomoric daydreams and understand that every human is part and parcel of the world around them for better or worse. We lock ourselves into perpetual ignorance if we freeze there and refuse to see more.
And with Wilson, there was more, so so so much more. His presidency started with successful pursuit of his New Freedom agenda and continued on to the Revenue Act of 1913, the Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Clayton Act. Wilson, ever the former academician but perennial philosopher pretty much laid the basis for the theory of government that allowed for later passage of the New Deal and Great Society and evolution of ideal of progressive politics we take for granted today. For Wilson, it was the pursuit of the ideal world, not the pursuit of the interests of the group with which he was affiliated, that mattered.
As the world evolves, it’s not alway possible to stick to a straight-line path. Dos Passos shows us that with Wilson, as war-related chaos in critical maritime shipping lanes force the guy who won re-election in 1916 under the slogan “He Kept Us Out of War” to bow to reality and public increased bellicosity to enter the fray. But even once in the war, he drove global leaders crazy with his “14 Point” peace agenda through which he battled against entrenched interests of the leaders of the combatant empires in favor of principles of peace based on universal justice. A lot of what he wanted fell by the wayside as the allied powers finally shoved the Treaty of Versailles down Germany’s throat and as even much of what he proposed was rejected by the U.S. Senate. Ultimately, though, Wilson was way ahead of his time (and even the present day might not yet be Wilson’s time — just look at the battles waged in today’s political arena, where the desire to win trumps the desire to get things right).
Dos Passos does a masterful job of educating readers regarding a historical figure who does no get nearly as much credit as he deserves for all he stood for (even despite the racial attitudes he learned as a child fo the Confederacy). The flaw, though (and the reason i don’t give it five-stars) is the log and detailed treatment of WWI itself. Do Passos seems to fall into the age-old trap that afflicts most who write on anything related to military history — the fear that if they don’t faithfully narrate as many bare facts as they can they’ll be panned by some bigger military-history geek waiting to scream about what was missed. The result is a too-large section of the book that is long on just-the-facts and virtually devoid of context or analysis.
Mr. Wilson’s War, published in 1962, therefore came off to me as quite a shock. It was, at the very least, a well written and balanced treatment of the subjects but actually, I’d say the tone toward Wilson was somewhat admiring. Looking up more about Dos Passos, I learned that his views had evolved quite a bit as he aged (and after he visited the Soviet Union) to the point where he wound up having supported presidential bids by Richard Nixon and Barry Goldwater.
I think the writing of the book, where it stands relative to the whole of Dos Passos life and works pretty much matches the sense one gets of Wilson himself. Dos Passos and Wilson both illustrate the tremendous and often unappreciated nuance that is applicable to just about all of human affairs and to life in general.
There is much more to the avant garde socialist-leaning lefty Dos Passos seemed, early on to be. He was actually a thoughtful person, scholar and artist who reacted to the world as he saw it and was not afraid to evolve as time passes and new information came to light.
Similarly, there is much more to Woodrow Wilson than the wishy-washy reluctant war monger and ex post facto racist many now seem him as.
He started life in the South in 1856, grew up as a subject of the Confederate States of America, and along with many around him, was reluctantly pulled into the U.S., probably kicking and screaming, during the chaotic and often violent post-Civil War reconstruction era. Those who nowadays react with horror to Wilson’s having viewed race in terms we today find unacceptable need to get over their sophomoric daydreams and understand that every human is part and parcel of the world around them for better or worse. We lock ourselves into perpetual ignorance if we freeze there and refuse to see more.
And with Wilson, there was more, so so so much more. His presidency started with successful pursuit of his New Freedom agenda and continued on to the Revenue Act of 1913, the Federal Reserve Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Clayton Act. Wilson, ever the former academician but perennial philosopher pretty much laid the basis for the theory of government that allowed for later passage of the New Deal and Great Society and evolution of ideal of progressive politics we take for granted today. For Wilson, it was the pursuit of the ideal world, not the pursuit of the interests of the group with which he was affiliated, that mattered.
As the world evolves, it’s not alway possible to stick to a straight-line path. Dos Passos shows us that with Wilson, as war-related chaos in critical maritime shipping lanes force the guy who won re-election in 1916 under the slogan “He Kept Us Out of War” to bow to reality and public increased bellicosity to enter the fray. But even once in the war, he drove global leaders crazy with his “14 Point” peace agenda through which he battled against entrenched interests of the leaders of the combatant empires in favor of principles of peace based on universal justice. A lot of what he wanted fell by the wayside as the allied powers finally shoved the Treaty of Versailles down Germany’s throat and as even much of what he proposed was rejected by the U.S. Senate. Ultimately, though, Wilson was way ahead of his time (and even the present day might not yet be Wilson’s time — just look at the battles waged in today’s political arena, where the desire to win trumps the desire to get things right).
Dos Passos does a masterful job of educating readers regarding a historical figure who does no get nearly as much credit as he deserves for all he stood for (even despite the racial attitudes he learned as a child fo the Confederacy). The flaw, though (and the reason i don’t give it five-stars) is the log and detailed treatment of WWI itself. Do Passos seems to fall into the age-old trap that afflicts most who write on anything related to military history — the fear that if they don’t faithfully narrate as many bare facts as they can they’ll be panned by some bigger military-history geek waiting to scream about what was missed. The result is a too-large section of the book that is long on just-the-facts and virtually devoid of context or analysis.
December 18, 2020
So here's the thing: 200 pages in, the only war Mr. Wilson had fought was against Villa, in Mexico. And I think he was still fighting it when I finally called time. I can't say I wasn't warned. The title clearly states that this book chronicles events from 1901 onward, but I am guilty of not taking the title at face value. Thus far, Woodrow Wilson's upbringing, years at Princeton, first marriage (death did them part), and remarriage while in her first term as President have been chronicled at length, along with events more closely related to war, albeit not necessarily the one raging in Europe.
More than the plodding pace, what did me in was the poor grammar and punctuation. I'm not sure whether this is unique to the electronic (Nook) format or if the print version suffers from the same dearth of commas and apostrophes, but I was nearly driven to distraction by this issue.
In short, I come away more disappointed than anything. I had high hopes, as I've heard wonderful things about the author, John Dos Passos, but I just couldn't make this one work for me. Perhaps that's a testament to some of the wonderful World War I writing I've already done: The Guns of August and The Beauty and the Sorrow, which both present a holistic view of the war, particularly the causes; Dead Wake, which chronicles the Lusitania disaster; and, of course, The Last of the Doughboys, which is a collection of memoirs from the Americans who served in Mr. Wilson's war - including one who was stationed on the Mexican border.
More than the plodding pace, what did me in was the poor grammar and punctuation. I'm not sure whether this is unique to the electronic (Nook) format or if the print version suffers from the same dearth of commas and apostrophes, but I was nearly driven to distraction by this issue.
In short, I come away more disappointed than anything. I had high hopes, as I've heard wonderful things about the author, John Dos Passos, but I just couldn't make this one work for me. Perhaps that's a testament to some of the wonderful World War I writing I've already done: The Guns of August and The Beauty and the Sorrow, which both present a holistic view of the war, particularly the causes; Dead Wake, which chronicles the Lusitania disaster; and, of course, The Last of the Doughboys, which is a collection of memoirs from the Americans who served in Mr. Wilson's war - including one who was stationed on the Mexican border.
June 27, 2025
An interesting political history of World War I from the point of view of Woodrow Wilson.
Mr. Dos Passos starts with the political forces that created Wilson’s presidency—a weakness of the book; its lead-in starting with Presidents McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt was overly long.
But once he got to Wilson, the author did a fine job of sketching the man, his times, how he came to be President (it would never happen today) and what forces caused his failure to achieve the establishment of the post-war League of Nations.
The story reminds us of the siren of power—especially political power—and Wilson’s particular brand of wielding it. He was fabulously successful at amassing it, in ways astounding to one living in the modern political world. (From a Princeton Professor to President? Really?) But, as is quite common, he was poor at executing the power in a way that brought the nation along with him. Instead, the arrogance of certainty in his own wisdom and righteousness left him a broken man with his major political goal in pieces on the floor.
It’s a cautionary tale, repeated often in history but alas we rarely learn—even a Princeton professor didn’t learn. But it’s a story well-told by Mr. Dos Passos and worth a read.
Mr. Dos Passos starts with the political forces that created Wilson’s presidency—a weakness of the book; its lead-in starting with Presidents McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt was overly long.
But once he got to Wilson, the author did a fine job of sketching the man, his times, how he came to be President (it would never happen today) and what forces caused his failure to achieve the establishment of the post-war League of Nations.
The story reminds us of the siren of power—especially political power—and Wilson’s particular brand of wielding it. He was fabulously successful at amassing it, in ways astounding to one living in the modern political world. (From a Princeton Professor to President? Really?) But, as is quite common, he was poor at executing the power in a way that brought the nation along with him. Instead, the arrogance of certainty in his own wisdom and righteousness left him a broken man with his major political goal in pieces on the floor.
It’s a cautionary tale, repeated often in history but alas we rarely learn—even a Princeton professor didn’t learn. But it’s a story well-told by Mr. Dos Passos and worth a read.
May 30, 2021
Always an Iconoclast
John Dos Pasos is an iconoclast, but remains true to his own values. He changed his perspective on politics as he gained first-hand experience through living. Unfortunately, this is an unforgivable sin in the eyes of the totally committed. Once the darling of the left, he is now abandoned by them. This narrative reflects the perspective of a mature thinker, heavily influenced by libertarianism.
John Dos Pasos is an iconoclast, but remains true to his own values. He changed his perspective on politics as he gained first-hand experience through living. Unfortunately, this is an unforgivable sin in the eyes of the totally committed. Once the darling of the left, he is now abandoned by them. This narrative reflects the perspective of a mature thinker, heavily influenced by libertarianism.
August 7, 2020
I read this book because it was on the bookshelf and because I have a curiosity about Dos Passos, who was a modernist but became a conservative. I don't know if this is a good history of American involvement in the First World War. I had no knowledge of American involvement in the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, and I was glad to learn of it.
July 25, 2020
This book is about World War I. The two most fascinating sections to me are Part IV, Chapter 20--American soldiers in Siberia fighting the Russian Revolution. And Part V on the Paris Peace Treaty and the personalities and problems involved.
October 25, 2021
This started out ok but it was simply too drawn out. I stopped at the 11% mark. It delves relatively deep into so many historic characters that the historic story that I expected to develop became too diluted with character stories. I just lost interest.
January 21, 2024
An excellent and almost unknown of an important time in the history of the United States.
February 6, 2025
Never really gets into the long term effects of Wilson's policies. Just a meat and potatoes history of WWI from Wilson's perspective.
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