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"Hoover's book was meant as a tribute to his former chief, but is ti easy to suspect that anger and hurt might underlie a portrayal that presents the worst as well as the best in one of our greatest statesmen. What makes Hoover's memoir especially valuable to readers already familiar with the story are matters of tone and interpretation which Hoover himself... probably did not notice that he was making available." -- David Burner, "The Atlantic"
"Woodrow Wilson Center Press."
Rediscover the historic partnership of a Democratic President and a republican engineer who together set out to save humanity from its own worst instincts.
(Sen. Mark Hatfield )Hoover's book was meant as a tribute to his former chief, but is ti easy to suspect that anger and hurt might underlie a portrayal that presents the worst as well as the best in one of our greatest statesmen. What makes Hoover's memoir especially valuable to readers already familiar with the story are matters of tone and interpretation which Hoover himself... probably did not notice that he was making available.
(David Burner Atlantic )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stick With It To The End,
By
This review is from: The Ordeal Of Woodrow Wilson (Paperback)
"The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson" by Herbert Hoover is rare in that it is a book about one president, written by another. It covers the period of the peace process which concluded World War I, continuing through the Ratification fight and Wilson's final illness and death. For the most part it deals with Hoover's role as administrator of food relief during and at the end of World War I. Much of the book tells the story of the obstacles placed in Hoover's way by the Allies as he attempted to prevent starvation in non-Allied regions of Europe in 1918-1919. Throughout this part of the book Wilson is occasionally invoked by Hoover for support in carrying out his mission. During the early portions of this work I was surprised to learn that German acceptance of the peace treaty was in doubt and was forced by threat of invasion and the withholding of food supplies. Hoover expresses the shock he felt when he read Wilson's letter calling for a Democratic Congress in 1918, but did support the call because he foresaw, accurately, that a Democratic defeat would be seen as a repudiation of Wilson which would weaken his hand at the Conference. My impression of Wilson as an out of touch intellectual was challenged by the fact that Germany surrendered in accord with his 14 Points and that the Allies agreed to 13 of the points, leaving only Freedom of the Seas as an unacceptable proposal.
As the history moves into the period of the Peace Conference, attention shifts more to Wilson. Hoover provides an insider's observation and analysis of the debate over whether Wilson should attend the Conference, the matching of American amateur diplomats against European career professionals and the clash of cultures which became apparent during the negotiations. Hoover tells the story of a challenging time during which Italy and Japan supported their demands by threatening to leave the Conference, while the European Allies tried to wring reparations out of Germany while they worked to limit German size and power. I was surprised to read of the proposal for an American Mandate for Armenia and Wilson's enthusiasm for an American mandate for Constantinople. The book does a good job of distinguishing between the separate issues of the Peace Treaty and the Covenant of the League of Nations. It relates the series of compromises which Wilson was forced to accept in order to preserve his treasured Covenant. Hoover expresses his assessment, shared by others, that the Versailles Treaty sowed the seeds of future war. The narrative continues with the story of the ratification fight in the Senate and during Wilson's cross country speaking tour. Even after his stroke, Wilson expected to salvage the treaty by a Democratic victory in 1920. Necessarily fairly vague about Wilson's physical condition after his stroke, Hoover does record his impressions of what information was really transmitted to the President. Although generally favorable to Wilson, Hoover is not unwilling to point out circumstances in which Wilson's performance fell short of his high standard. He tells the story of "what is in my opinion the greatest drama of intellectual leadership in all history" when "For the moment, Woodrow Wilson had reached the zenith of intellectual and spiritual leadership of the whole world, never hitherto known in history." In another circumstance, he faults Wilson for not including any Republicans on his negotiating team, the inclusion of which might have removed partisan opposition to the resulting Treaty and Covenant. On the issue of League of Nations Mandates he says "that the President, to put it bluntly, was just fooled. He was certainly under an illusion as to the ultimate effect of the mandates." At times the writing is a bit dry, relying heavily on diaries and letters. I recommend that the reader stick with it through these portions. In the early sections I was disappointed, but gradually came to greater appreciation of this tome. By the end I realized that I had read an instructive memoir by a party involved in a most significant period of history.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two Broken Presidents at One Glance,
By
This review is from: The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson (Paperback)
By the time this book was published, Herbert Hoover was well on his way to rehabilitation, thanks to Harry Truman (who was in this, as in many things, emulated by Eisenhower). It is, in a real sense, a memoir, written about the time when Hoover was at the beginning of his public life at a time when he might have thought he was at the end of it (he was to die 6 years later at 90). Hoover, whose name has long been synonymous with laissez-faire Republicanism, first rose to prominence under one of the most progressive Democratic presidents. Wilson's ordeal had to be particularly painful for Hoover in retrospect, since he suffered something similar himself. This is a marvelous curiosity that anyone generally interested in 20c American history must possess. I admit, however, that it's more of a browser than a page turner.
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