More Precious than Peace: A New History of America in World War I by Justus D. Doenecke

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'More Precious than Peace: A New History of America in World War I' by Justus D. Doenecke

Eight months after the U.S. entered World War I, the first U.S. ground troops died in a German attack as the war hung in the balance. After victories in Russia and Italy, Germany shifted the bulk of its army to the western front, planning a massive offensive in the spring. A U.S. general at the front wrote that the war was lost. “Alas, I think we came too late.”

In More Precious than Peace, historian Justus D. Doenecke unearths many similarly surprising remarks and debates from the months following President Woodrow Wilson’s declaration of war (April 1917) through victory (November 1918). Unlike previous books focused on military objectives, Congressional politics or the home front, Doenecke summarizes all aspects of America’s war effort. He draws from the words of participants—pundits, politicians, soldiers, activists—as well as historians who came before him, weighing their comments and presenting balanced conclusions.

Wilson is an ambiguous figure throughout More Precious than Peace. His administration was relatively free of graft, even as he emersed himself in details and sometimes lost sight of political reality. Although Wilson promised to keep the U.S. out of the European war, he finally entered the fray, articulating “peace aims that forced all warring leaders, friend or foe, to respond to his agenda.” Wilson had no military experience, yet two million soldiers—a force built almost from scratch—were sent overseas by spring 1918, albeit largely armed by the Western Allies and—surprisingly—trained by the French.

Wilson also imposed a censorship that stifled criticism of him or the war effort. The American public remained about entering the conflict despite fear of arrest or vigilante beatings and the relentless drumbeat of propaganda. Doenecke recovers many of those dissenting voices.