A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today (Hardcover)

~ David A. Andelman (Author)
Key Phrases: peace delegates, Peace Conference, United States, Middle East (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Andelman's sprightly view of the peace process, the major and minor players, and the decades-later outcomes is an excellent read..." (Library Journal, October 15, 2007)

"...fascinating...[a] study which highlights the connection between the critical post-war period and the George W. Bush administration's..."  -- opendemocracy.net, Sunday 11th November 2007

The Versailles peace conference, held between the Allied victorious powers and Germany following World War I, attempted to create a lasting peace-and parcel out the world. The great powers felt that they should inherit much of it; inhabitants of the countries to be parceled out felt otherwise. The shortsightedness of the conferees produced a world that fragmented in unexpected ways and arguably generated a century of continuous conflict. With chapters on some of those present, such as the young Ho Chi Min, on the shared goals of Emir Feisal and Chaim Weizmann, and on the abortive stab at making peace in revolutionary Russia, Andelman (executive editor, Forbes.com ) casts a bitter light on the rest of the 20th century. The author's constant theme is that the failures of the Versailles conference laid the groundwork for World War II, the iron curtain, the Vietnam War, the various Middle East conflicts, and the Balkan wars. Andelman's sprightly view of the peace process, the major and minor players, and the decades-later outcomes is an excellent read that will enhance most history collections. Recommended for most subject collections.
—Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, KS (Library Journal, October 15, 2007)

"...fascinating...a challenging and courageous study which highlights the connection between the critical post-war period and the George W. Bush administration's..." (opendemocracy.net, Sunday 11th November 2007)

Review

"The peace settlements that followed World War I have recently come back into focus as one of the dominant factors shaping the modern world. The Balkans, the Middle East, Iraq, Turkey and parts of Africa all owe their present-day problems, in part, to these negotiations. David Andelman brings it all back to life – the lofty ideals, the ugly compromises, the larger-than-life personalities who came to Paris in 1919. And he links that far-away diplomatic dance to present day problems that illuminates our troubled times. A tremendous addition to this vitally important subject."
—Ambassador Richard Holbrooke

"The failed peace settlement following the Great War of 1914-1918 had been the subject of many fine books. In many respects, David Andelman’s Shattered Peace is the best of these. It is compact and compellingly written. Moreover, it explains more clearly than any other work how the failure of peacemaking in 1919 shaped later history and, indeed, shapes our own era."
—Prof. Ernest R. May, Charles Warren Professor of American History, Harvard University

"We tend to think of the negotiations at Versailles in 1919 as a bungled business that left the First World War a tangle of loose ends, to be tied up by the victors of World War II. It is the power and fascination of David Andelman’s new book A Shattered Peace that he shows us – with the clarity of a first-rate reporter and the drama and detail at the command of a first-rate novelist – that we are all still enmeshed in those loose ends, the inheritors of a mess left by the hasty, casual dispensation of fragments of nations inhabited by millions of people whose hopes were maimed and whose lives were often forfeit. By focusing not on the giant participants – France, Britain, Italy and the United States – but rather on what seemed to them joke nations and penny-ante fake diplomats, Andelman brings us to Korea, to Vietnam, to the Persian gulf, and to Iraq in our own vexed era. His story is a bitter and bleak one; it is also alive with color, conflict, and interesting (to say the least) people. We could not find a better guide to a time that somehow seems to grow larger and closer even as it reaches beyond living memory."
—Richard Snow, editor in chief, American Heritage

"The peace settlements that followed World War I have recently come back into focus as one of the dominant factors shaping the modern world. The Balkans, the Middle East, Iraq, Turkey and parts of Africa all owe their present-day problems, in part, to these negotiations. David Andelman brings it all back to life - the lofty ideals, the ugly compromises, the larger-than-life personalities who came to Paris in 1919. And he links that far-away diplomatic dance to present day problems that illuminates our troubled times. A tremendous addition to this vitally important subject.
—Ambassador Holbrooke

"The peace conference in Paris at the end of World War I was the first and last moment of pure hope for peace in the history of world affairs. Our President, Woodrow Wilson, was the sorcerer for this hope, and he kindled great expectations in people everywhere. David Andelman, a classic reporter and story teller, tells this fascinating tale of hope falling finally and forever on the shoals of naïveté and hard-headed cynicism."
—Leslie H. Gelb, former columnist for the New York Times, is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (October 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471788988
• ISBN-13: 978-0471788980
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,546 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read - Compact and Informative, February 14, 2008

By	Conor Cunneen "SHEIFGAB author - Conor Cunneen" (Naperville, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Excellent book, excellently written, if a little mis-titled.

David Andelman has written a book which presents very cogently how the debacle of Versailles 1919 still impacts the world today. The reason why I suggest the book is mis-titled is because the author does not take us in depth into the negotiations which took place at Versailles. Instead, he paints a very vivid picture of the key players, countries and geo-politics that prefaced Versailles and World War I.

In presenting these well crafted pictures, he shows that to some extent, Versailles was a done deal almost before the event. "Across the region, forces of all sides were seeking to establish fait accomplis - bringing further misery, death, and destruction to millions of people."

The level of intrigue, secret agreements and downright Machiavellian behavior which the major and some minor powers involved themselves in the years prior to 1919 is mind boggling. Maybe the saddest element of this book is that many of the key parties understood, even as they were negotiating the treaty that in the words of a disappointed T.E. Lawrence "There will be hell to pay."
There has been hell to pay - World War II, Vietnam, Yugoslavia / Bosnia / Croatia, the Japanese involvement in WWII can all be traced to the Shattered Peace.

Andelman makes it quite clear that three things motivated the major parties
Colonialism, for instance "The view of Allied Statesmen was that Arabs ... needed to be ruled by Europeans for their own benefit";
Revenge and
Ensuring Germany would never be a power again.

The terrible irony of course is that the terms imposed on the German people virtually ensured Europe would be at war again within two decades which is not something that was unexpected. Lloyd George wrote in one prescient document, "I cannot conceive any greater cause of future war" than the transfer of millions of Germans to smaller neighboring nations. "It will lead sooner or later to a new war in the East of Europe." How horribly right he was.

The author provides clear pictures on Arabia, Palestine and the conflict between Czechoslovakia's Tomas Masaryk and Poland's internationally famed pianist turned statesmen Ignace Jan Paderewski. He also paints a very interesting and compelling portrait of the young Ho Chi Minh, initially an idealistic believer in the Versailles process, but who ultimately felt his country's fate could best be served by pledging his loyalty to Lenin. The Vietnamese leaders description of one massacre of his people helps one appreciate why they despised the French colonial rule of their country.

I am sure there have been many lengthier books written on Versailles, but few can be as interesting a read. Excellent reading for anyone who wishes to explore the genesis of many of today's geo-political problems.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable Lessons Applicable to Today's World, November 25, 2007

By	Joseph F. Birchmeier (Milford, KS) - See all my reviews

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The author's stated purpose for this book is to examine the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on the Middle East (to include Iraq), the Far East and the Balkans. I think that he does a wonderful job of providing insight into how decisions that came about during the conference in Paris has impacted each of these areas of the world to the present day. His inclusion of lesser known players, their opinions, and thier interactions with the other participants in the conference, and even their social life during the conference is entertaining, easy to read, and adds a great deal to the book. At the end of the book I had a clear picture of how the decisions were arrived at in Paris and thier continuing impacts.
I have only one criticism of the book. The author presents different options that were available to the participants of the conference for solving the issues in each of these areas of the world - but does not provide any analysis for the feasibility of taking these different options. I would have liked to have heard the author's opinions as to: How many Soldiers would have been needed to enforce these different options? How much money and other resources would have been required to facililiate these different options? And would these different options have prevented or lessened the amount of bloodshed that the world has witnessed since this treaty was completed? I think this type of analysis would add to the book's value and make what seems to be in many cases obvious solutions to the issues at hand during the peace conference not quite as appealing or desireable given the realities of the times (specifically that the world was trying to recover from a just finished WWI).
Highly recommend this book however, it contains many valuable points for consideration and is a page-turner.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read , November 1, 2007

By	Manhattanite (New York) - See all my reviews

Sometimes it's hard to believe that we are still suffering from political shenanigans and mistakes in Europe of nearly a hundred years ago, but just read David Andelman's book and you'll be convinced. "A Shattered Peace" captures the times of the so-called "Great War" and its aftermath vividly and compellingly - and not just the major players like Woodrow Wilson and Georges Clemenceau. He shows us the actions of people like Ho Chi Minh and Charles de Gaulle who only later became famous. But, hey, this book isn't dry history -- it's a great read: Andelman is a story-teller par excellence.