Woodrow Wilson: The American Presidents Series: The 28th President, 1913-1921, Hardcover

A comprehensive account of the rise and fall of one of the major shapers of American foreign policy

On the eve of his inauguration as President, Woodrow Wilson commented, "It would be the irony of fate if my administration had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs." As America was drawn into the Great War in Europe, Wilson used his scholarship, his principles, and the political savvy of his advisers to overcome his ignorance of world affairs and lead the country out of isolationism. The product of his efforts--his vision of the United States as a nation uniquely suited for moral leadership by virtue of its democratic tradition--is a view of foreign policy that is still in place today.

Acclaimed historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist H. W. Brands offers a clear, well-informed, and timely account of Wilson's unusual route to the White House, his campaign against corporate interests, his struggles with rivals at home and allies abroad, and his decline in popularity and health following the rejection by Congress of his League of Nations. Wilson emerges as a fascinating man of great oratorical power, depth of thought, and purity of intention.

About the Author:

H. W. Brands is distinguished professor of history at Texas A&M University. His previous books include the Pulitzer Prize finalist The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, The Age of Gold, and a biography of Teddy Roosevelt. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., (1917-2007) was the preeminent political historian of our time. For more than half a century, he was a cornerstone figure in the intellectual life of the nation and a fixture on the political scene. He won two Pulitzer prizes for The Age of Jackson (1946) and A Thousand Days(1966), and in 1988 received the National Humanities Medal. He published the first volume of his autobiography, A Life in the Twentieth Century, in 2000.