... lively and enthralling.

... brings the reader on a journey whose destination is preordained. However, the people and circumstances that guide the way form the crux of a brilliantly told history. The heart of the book consists of the three robust personalities caught in the middle of a rapidly escalating situation. Author Neil Lanctot relates the past with elegance and flair..

Lanctot shifts smoothly among these pivotal personalities and makes the details of this broadly ranging history accessible to all sorts of readers. He covers some of the same territory Barbara Tuchman explored in her iconic The Guns of August, but Lanctot’s focus on the roles of these three titanic figures contributes a unique and valuable view of America’s place in the Great War’s genesis..

In this thought-provoking narrative, Lanctot saves speculation until the end, where he conjectures that if Wilson had made different decisions during his presidency, a longer and less conclusive conflict might have beneficially resulted in a sustainable global power equilibrium.

... a fresh, character-driven look at the debate over America’s entry into WWI.

... meticulously researched.