Review

General Books

From Versailles to Pearl Harbor is a solid text that can be used for American, European, Asian, or world history surveys, or perhaps even for upper division surveys in the history of international relations. More importantly, the editors have succeeded in giving equal attention to events in Asia as compared to those taking place in Europe and the United States. This book is probably one of the first texts, if not the first, to incorporate into a readable survey for under graduates the research on Asian diplomatic history published in monographs since the 1960s. In addition, the authors have spent quite a bit of time describing events from the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, again incorporating the latest research. They also go far in demonstrating to students the intertwined role that historical circumstances and human decision making played in the great power diplomacy of both the pre-1914 and post-1918 time periods.	1
One disadvantage of the book is that it is dense and detailed, but that is the stuff of which good diplomatic history is made. It may also be criticized as being fairly traditional in focusing primarily on the actions of the elite, with very little attention to popular action or non-elite influences on policy. However, the authors do make it clear enough that popular action in terms of nationalism, militarism, riots, and economic protest did influence elites at various times. While their account of events may not satisfy "new" diplomatic historians, the authors display a fair balance in making clear that diplomacy becomes more public after World War One. The book provides a good set of maps, though these might have been more effective if dispersed throughout the book rather than being concentrated in the first part of the text. More positively, students will come away from this book with a fair understanding of the origins of current problems in the Balkans and the Middle East. They will also have a good view of the problems which ensued when the system of secret diplomacy and imperialism before 1914 came to an end and another, the "public or open" diplomacy of post 1918, began although without much support by the great powers.	2
Students will also find fairly new interpretations. For instance, the authors do a highly effective job of explaining how historical interpretations change with the passing of time or the opening of archives, such as occurred after 1991. More importantly, the students will see historical perspectives that differ even with the same evidence, because the authors incorporate differing perspectives and seek to find "middle grounds" upon which the students can stand. The authors do not, for instance, condemn the Versailles Treaty entirely because they argue that it was the best that could be achieved at the time, given conditions and compromises that had to take place for any peace agreement. Students will hopefully understand from these explorations of events that things did not transpire because of simplistic conspiracies, but because of the complex combination of both the strengths and weaknesses of the involved players. This much more realistic explanation of events should go far in exposing students raised in the 1990s to a more credible past than the one presented in much of the popular media..	3
The authors, or perhaps the editor, have also taken a positive step in having a full section of suggested additional readings and traditional endnotes. While this reviewer thinks that primary sources need to be included in endnotes or footnotes, even the addition of the secondary historiography found here is a step in the right direction toward teaching students where history books come from. This book could easily be used for upper division students, probably could be used for lower division students, and might even be employable for skilled and motivated high school senior students. While graduate students in international or diplomatic history would not find much new in terms of interpretations, I think that budding teaching assistants and graduate instructors would find it a highly valuable text which shows how to teach complex subjects and what to have entry-level students read.	4
Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, Michigan Hal M. Friedman

Content in the History Cooperative database is intended for personal, noncommercial use only. You may not reproduce, publish, distribute, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, modify, create derivative works from, display, or in any way exploit the History Cooperative database in whole or in part without the written permission of the copyright holder.