March 1917: On the Brink of War and Revolution
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
“Fast-paced history . . . full of haunting, unforgettable wartime images.” —David M. Shribman, Boston Globe
March 1917 is a riveting history of the month that transformed the world’s greatest nations as Russia faced revolution and America entered World War I. Drawing on a wealth of contemporary Russian and American diaries, memoirs, oral histories, and newspaper accounts, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Will Englund creates a highly detailed and textured account of America’s transformation from an isolationist nation to one that embraced an active role in shaping world affairs while at home Jim Crow still reigned. This fascinating examination considers the dreams of that year’s warriors, pacifists, activists, revolutionaries, and reactionaries—from Czar Nicholas II to Woodrow Wilson, from Theodore Roosevelt to the fiery congresswoman Jeannette Rankin—and demonstrates how their successes and failures constitute the origin story of our complex modern world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Despite the plethora of books on WWI, Englund, an experienced Moscow-based correspondent for the Washington Post, crafts a novel and persuasive point of entry into the topic, focusing on the pivotal month of March 1917 "the most critical month in Washington since the Civil War." He structures his narrative history around two primary developments: the lead-up to U.S. involvement in the war in Europe, amid unceasing German submarine warfare and after raucous domestic debate, and the overthrow of czarist autocracy in Russia. Englund alternates between these two primary narratives and deftly interweaves additional stories and anecdotes to provide social, cultural, and political context for this pivotal time. These elements largely center on the U.S.: race relations, labor disputes, music, sports, and more. Englund uses light and compelling storytelling to enliven multiple narratives of select individuals, including then-President Woodrow Wilson, former president Theodore Roosevelt, "professional revolutionary" Leon Trotsky, women suffrage activists, an American banker in Russia witnessing its revolution, and a privileged couple in the Ukraine. Despite the lack of any groundbreaking perspectives or material, Englund delivers a satisfying, well written, and well timed work. Illus.
