The Origins of American Intervention in the First World War

This little book is a wonderful synopsis of the twisted road to American intervention in WW I. Gregory at the beginning of the book states that the book is not designed to break new ground and uncover new interpretations on American entry into WW I, and indeed it does not do so. However, Gregory succeeds in expertly detailing the political and diplomatic wrangling within the American government in the years leading up to WW I. He also succeeds in putting into perspective both the sinking of the Lusitania, and the Zimmerman Telegram, both of which have been named in popular accounts as the "reason" the US declared war on Germany, neither of which is true, it was a complicated myriad of factors which led Wilson to ask for a declaration of war. Gregory also makes clear that some of the blame for the failure of Wilsonian diplomacy must be laid at the feet of not only Wilson, who did not realize the weight of the economic club he could wield against the Allied and Axis nations, but also at the feet of Wilson's advisors, who failed to adequately carry out some of Wilson's instructions designed to get both warring parties to keep the US out of the war. Gregory also deftly explains that the US for a time might have gone to war against England and France due to the fact the British did not respect American neutrality on the seas, it was only the stupidity of the Germans to resume unrestricted submarine warfare that finally pushed Wilson firmly into the allied camp, although his heart had been with the allies more than the Germans all along. A wonderful introduction to a complicated subject!