Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
March 28, 2024

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist presents book on WWI

By EMILY MCDONALD | April 13, 2017

A2_WWI

Public Domain Englund’s book explores WWI, which was fought 100 years ago.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Will Englund discussed his debut book, March 1917: On the Brink of War and Revolution, on Thursday, April 6 in Barnes and Noble.

The book focuses on the month before the U.S. entered World War I and analyzes the events that spurred U.S. involvement.

“The question I’m trying to answer in this book is: How did we ever get there?” Englund said.

Englund argues that this crucial one-month period helped form the U.S. into the nation that we know today.

“[America] went from being a country that was not paying much attention to the world, to one that felt like it had found its calling to go out into the world, to remake the world in its own image,” he said.

He further emphasized the shift of perspective on American foreign policy.

“It all began in this month of March — what we call Wilsonian interventionism, idealism — and it was over the course of just six weeks that it became integral to the American outlook of the world,” he said.

Englund also discussed the many similarities between the political climate of the U.S. back then versus now. He pointed out how in March 1917, there were events and trends such as outrage against inequitable wealth distribution, street protests in Russia and a redefinition of the media.

“There wasn’t Twitter,” Englund said, “But there were telegrams, which had somewhat the same effect.”

Englund also spoke about how he hopes the book covers aspects of life in America that are not typically included in a narrative about the country’s involvement in WWI.

He points to the women’s rights movement in the context of Jeannette Rankin, the first female member of Congress, as well as the lives of African Americans at this time.

“What I wanted to do was really make this portrait of the two countries as they were tumbling towards this dramatic moment. It’s not just about Wilson or the cabinet or the Congress... I also wanted to get into the suffrage movement, and the labor movement, and popular music and the really difficult conditions and questions faced by African-Americans,” he said.

One audience member asked about Englund’s opinion on the parallels he drew between 1917 and 2017.

“Parallels can be taken so far. I think it’s interesting to see that we’re not the first to grapple with these issues. I don’t think these parallels are necessarily going to drive us in the same direction. I hope they don’t,” Englund said.

John Buckley, a self-proclaimed history buff, found that revisiting the historical events of the book was relevant to today.

“I thought that the suffragette movement information was really great,” he said. “It’s very poignant nowadays to see that. People don’t understand that it’s hasn’t been that long, that women’s rights haven’t been a guarantee for only a hundred years.”

Steve Luxenberg, a friend of Englund, attended the event to support him and spoke about his own views as an author.

“I’m writing a book in which I also see a lot of parallels between the nineteenth century and today,” he said. “It’s important to remember that we’re not as smart and as savvy as we think we are, that they were talking about some of the issues that are important today back then.”

Overall, Luxenberg was impressed with Englund’s discussion of his book.

“He did an excellent job of engaging you in the book,” he said. “He’s a lively speaker, and I think that’s very important when you’re trying to talk about a book, otherwise no one’s going to either buy it or read it.”

Audience members Bill and Deb Howard attended the event because they had read some of Englund’s journalistic work and saw the book mentioned in an article.

“I was surprised by the concern and the interest by the women’s movement and the African-American movement,” Deb Howard said.

Bill Howard appreciated the various aspects of history Englund included in his book.

“One thing that I was interested to hear him talk about is how he pulled together so many different strands,” he said. “He said music, culture, civil rights. It wasn’t just all about war and politics.”

They both also discussed the similarities between today and the past.

“It’s humbling that there are so many parallels, and maybe we haven’t learned much in a hundred years,” he said. “Our country is not as far advanced as we’d like to think. We still haven’t solved a lot of the same basic issues.”

Deb had a more optimistic take.

“I felt, while in some ways, while it’s humbling, it’s also a little bit comforting,” she said. “We still somehow survive as a nation.”


Have a tip or story idea?
Let us know!

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.