Product Description

"I would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose!" - Woodrow Wilson

• For better or worse, Woodrow Wilson's vision of America's role in the world continues to be heard today - preserving civilization and making the world safe for democracy
• Woodrow Wilson was key player in seeking a peaceful solution to World War One - many of the principles outlined in his Fourteen Points remain with us today, enshrined in the mandate of the United Nations
• The League of Nations was one of the great political debates in US history - might its success have changed the course of world history?

Based upon the recently completed publication of the Wilson Papers, Woodrow Wilson presents a portrait that re-examines his political career and argues that he has been misunderstood. J.A. Thompson offers an integrated interpretation of Wilson's academic career as a political scientist and university president, his style as a domestic politician and his conduct of foreign policy - topics that have generally been treated separately and very differently. The author shows that, from an early age, Wilson's chief interest was in the nature of political leadership in a democracy, and describes the great success he enjoyed when he had an opportunity to practice this role himself. Although his ultimate failure to persuade the Senate to accept the League of Nations has left a misleading impression that Wilson was an unrealistic visionary, it took great political skill to lead a largely united country into its first major attempt to shape the world beyond the Western Hemisphere. This is an alternative, more rounded and ultimately more positive portrait of this major President, showing that he was a very able and pragmatic politician. The latest work in the best-selling Profiles in Power series.

J. A. Thompson is Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #537848 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'This is a book that, while being accessible to studnets, will be stimulating to scholars. It is a valuable contribution to Wilsonian scholarship.' The Journal of Southern History, Feb 2004

From the Back Cover

As President of the United States, 1913-21, Woodrow Wilson directed American foreign policy during the First World War, leading the United States into the conflict in 1917 and playing a major role at the Paris peace conference. He is one of the most significant figures of twentieth century history.

This profile, which is based upon the recently-completed publication of the Wilson Papers, presents a fresh view of his career. It provides an integrated interpretation of his academic career as a political scientist and university president, his style as a domestic politician and his conduct of foreign policy - topics that have generally been treated separately and very differently. It shows that, from an early age, Wilson's chief interest was in the nature of political leadership in a democracy, and describes the great success he enjoyed when he had an opportunity to practice this role himself. Although his ultimate failure to persuade the Senate to accept the League of Nations has left a misleading impression that Wilson was an unrealistic visionary, it took great political skill to lead a largely united country into its first major attempt to shape the world beyond the Western Hemisphere. Thompson¿s book presents an alternative, more rounded and ultimately more positive portrait of this major President, showing that he was a very able and pragmatic politician.

John S. Thompson is Fellow of St Catharine¿s College, Cambridge. He is the author of `Reformers and War:American Progressive Publicists and the First World War¿ (1987).

 

About the Author

Professor Thompson teaches history at St Catherine's College, University of Cambridge.

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Customer Reviews

A New Look at Woodrow Wilson
"Wilsonianism" has defined, and in many ways imprisoned, American foreign policy since the end of World War I. But what if Wilsonianism was the product of pragmatic, ad hoc, political considerations rather than an idealistic grand strategy?

In his marvelous and very readable study of the statecraft of President Woodrow Wilson, John A Thompson argues that Wilson blended certain idealistic values with hard political realities in his response to World War I. Thompson's book, while brief, is comprehensive: it begins with Wilson's childhood, takes the reader through his career as an academic and later President of Princeton University, discusses his term as Governor of New Jersey, and finally delves into the domestic and international aspects of the Wilson presidency.

This book will appeal to general readers, particularly those who wish to be better informed about the Wilson presidency, as well as academic specialists.

Undoubtedly the best short life of Woodrow Wilson in print
It may come as a surprise to many American readers that it has fallen to a British scholar (from the prestigious University of Cambridge) to write such a lively, elegant and thoughtful study of one of America's greatest Presidents. But those who have followed Thompson's earlier work on Progressivism will know what a fine writer he is.

Here he follows Wilson's career through all the highs and lows of political life, deftly sketching a powerful pen-portrait of Woodrow Wilson the tortured man even as he skilfully demonstrates just why Wilson was such a pivotal figure in American political history. The writing is crisp, the pacing never flags, and Thompson's conclusions are both striking and convincing. A powerful read, and in the current climate, perhaps an instructive one. Buy it, read it, and send a copy to the White House.

A masterful achievement !
John A. Thompson, author of the Reformers and War: American Progressives Publicists and the First World War (1987)and a leading authority on the Progessive Era and First World War, has written a superb and compact biography of Woodrow Wilson, the best one-volume biography of Wilson that we have. Thompson's insightful account focuses on Wilson's leadership style and assesses both its strengths and weaknesses. As president of Princeton, governor of New Jersey, and president of the United States, Wilson exhibited both firmness and flexibility, and idealism and a practicality. Examining the abilities and the limits of political leadership in American democracy, Thompson carefully weighs the degree to which Wilson's successes and failures were a result of his own actions and a consequence of other factors beyond his control. This is a masterful achievement.