I just finished another one of the histories of WWI that I've been immersing myself in - this one is "The Illusion of Vistory: America in WWI" by Thomas Fleming. It covered a shorter period - just the time from American entry in 1917 through the end of Wilson's presidency. It's a fascinating study of the politics that surrounded American entry into the war, and the attempt by Wilson to get the League of Nations treaty passed. The thing that really struck me was that pride and self righteousness was most of the problem. Wilson was not only sure that he was right - he was convinced that his political opponents were not only wrong - they were evil for disagreeing with him. Needless to say, that made it pretty darn hard to compromise with the senate - and compromise with the senate is the only way for Presidents of the US to get treaties through.

The other thing that I found interesting was the more US focused background on the peace conference. The last book I read - "Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World" - wasn't focused on Wilson and the US delegation. It covered the conference in exhaustive detail, while Fleming's book merely skimmed it. Even so, in covering the interplay between Wilson, his wife, Colonel House, and the other important US players, it filled some interesting gaps. Fleming comes down pretty hard on Wilson - but at this point, with all the reading I've done on the subject - I think Wilson deserves a fair bit of approbation.

In any case, "The Illusion of Victory" is a worthwhile addition to any study of WWI - especially if you are interested in the US effort. Next up is Barbara Tuchman's classic, "The Guns of August". After that, I think I'll tackle Nicholson's book on the Congress of Vienna.