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The World Remade by G. J. Meyer
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The World Remade

America in World War I

$32.50

Get for $14.99 with membership
Narrator Rob Shapiro
Length 24 hours 52 minutes
Language English
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A bracing, indispensable account of America’s epoch-defining involvement in the Great War, rich with fresh insights into the key issues, events, and personalities of the period

After years of bitter debate, the United States declared war on Imperial Germany on April 6, 1917, plunging the country into the savage European conflict that would redraw the map of the continent—and the globe. The World Remade is an engrossing chronicle of America’s pivotal, still controversial intervention into World War I, encompassing the tumultuous politics and towering historical figures that defined the era and forged the future. When it declared war, the United States was the youngest of the major powers and militarily the weakest by far. On November 11, 1918, when the fighting stopped, it was not only the richest country on earth but the mightiest.

With the mercurial, autocratic President Woodrow Wilson as a primary focus, G. J. Meyer takes readers from the heated deliberations over U.S. involvement, through the provocations and manipulations that drew us into the fight, to the battlefield itself and the shattering aftermath of the struggle. America’s entry into the Great War helped make possible the defeat of Germany that had eluded Britain, France, Russia, and Italy in three and a half years of horrendous carnage. Victory, in turn, led to a peace treaty so ill-conceived, so vindictive, that the world was put on the road to an even bloodier confrontation a mere twenty years later.

On the home front, Meyer recounts the break-up of traditional class structures, the rise of the progressive and labor movements, the wave of anti-German hysteria, and the explosive expansion of both the economy and federal power, including shocking suspensions of constitutional protections that planted the seeds of today’s national security state. Here also are revealing portraits of Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, Robert La Follette, Eugene Debs, and John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, among others, as well as European leaders such as “Welsh Wizard” David Lloyd George of Britain, “Tiger” Georges Clemenceau of France, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

Meyer interweaves the many strands of his story into a gripping narrative that casts new light on one of the darkest, most forgotten corners of U.S. history. In the grand tradition of his earlier work A World Undone—which centered on the European perspective—The World Remade adds a new, uniquely American dimension to our understanding of the seminal conflict of the twentieth century.

Praise for The World Remade

“[G. J.] Meyer offers wonderful insights into many of the key players in this arresting saga . . . one that should be read to understand our emergence as a global power.”Booklist (starred review)

“Meyer gives a good sense of America’s future at that negotiating table and Wilson’s celebrated role at Versailles as the leader of the free world. . . . A refreshing look at this still-much-debated world debacle.”Kirkus Reviews

“Characters come alive and the past seems near. . . . Meyer succeeds brilliantly with his basic narrative approach, and any reader who wants to learn about American participation in the war will benefit from this book.”Publishers Weekly

“This book is well written, sharp, and has bearing on our present and future involvement in wars. A+”Seattle Book Review

This lengthy revisionist history will fit well with American history and governmental studies departments in both public and academic libraries.”—Library Journal 

G. J. Meyer is the author of three popular histories: A World Undone: The Story of the Great War; The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty; and The Borgias: The Hidden History. Meyer received a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism from Harvard University. He earned an M.A. from the University of Minnesota, where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, and has taught writing and literature at colleges in Des Moines, St. Louis, and New York. He now lives in Wiltshire, England.

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Reviews

“A massive and ambitious effort that strives to cover and explain a very broad range of aspects, including our entry and participation in the [World War I], the failure of the ‘peace,’ and the changes the war brought to our political and social fabric. [G. J.] Meyer offers wonderful insights into many of the key players in this arresting saga. . . . This is a provocative and sometimes harshly judgmental history, but one that should be read to understand our emergence as a global power.”Booklist (starred review)

“[Meyer] debunks many myths about America’s valiant intentions in joining the war, especially regarding President Woodrow Wilson’s sense of destiny on the world stage, and he closely examines why Wilson acquiesced to joining the fight. . . . Meyer gives a good sense of America’s future at that negotiating table and Wilson’s celebrated role at Versailles as the leader of the free world. . . . A refreshing look at this still-much-debated world debacle.”Kirkus Reviews

“Here, with great skill and fidelity to fact, Meyer . . . relate[s] the complex tale of a nation venturing back into world affairs after a century of comparative isolation. . . . Meyer tells the story with brio. Characters come alive and the past seems near. . . . Meyer succeeds brilliantly with his basic narrative approach, and any reader who wants to learn about American participation in the war will benefit from this book.”Publishers Weekly

“G. J. Meyer has written a keen observation about a historic and troubling period. This opus spans the war years, reflecting the [United States’] emergence as a global power while the other countries fought a war of attrition. Wilson is painted first as a complicated man who could be a sharp politician, then as a sick, indecisive man looking for validation. This book is well written, sharp, and has bearing on our present and future involvement in wars. A+”Seattle Book Review

“Superbly well-written and deftly organized . . . [a valuable addition] to the literature of America and the First World War . . . that will challenge readers to think or rethink their ideas about the subject and its significance for understanding our present predicaments.”The Common Reader

This lengthy revisionist history will fit well with American history and governmental studies departments in both public and academic libraries.”—Library Journal  Expand reviews
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