The Zimmermann Telegram - Softcover

4.05

4,735 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1842122797 ISBN 13: 9781842122792

Publisher: Phoenix Press, 1806

In January 1917 when World War I was deadlocked and the United States was clinging grimly to neutrality, the British intercepted a telegram from Berlin which they knew would bring America to the aid of the Allies. This is the story of how the message was decoded and how it was put to use by the British - a tale of espionage, secret diplomacy, international politics and personal drama.

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From the Publisher:

The average person thinks that it was the sinking of the Lusitania that brought the United States into World War I. Not so! In this slim volume that reads like a whodunnit, Barbara Tuchman reveals the little known secret of The Zimmerman Telegram. Basically, Germany wanted to keep the U.S. and its industrial might out of the European conflict by convincing Mexico and Japan to attack the U.S. Germany even promised Mexico it would get back Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona! What the Germans didn't know is that as soon as war was declared, the first thing the British did was cut Germany's transatlantic cable. All telegrams or telephone calls to North America had to travel over Britain's cable. And the British intercepted every telegram out of Germany. Even though the Zimmerman telegram was sent in code, it was broken. But the shrewd British held onto it, not revealing its contents until it was absolutely necessary, and in such a way that they didn't have to reveal that they were intercepting German messages! Brilliant! When the New York Times published the telegram in 1917, it was but a short time until pacifist Woodrow Wilson got a declaration of war from Congress, and the U.S. began sending troops "over there." A great read!

Doug Grad, Editor

About the Author:

Barbara Tuchman (1912-1989) was one of America's foremost popular historians since the war. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Guns of August in 1963. A master of detail with a powerful grasp of complex historical issues Tuchman's great style brings the past vividly to life.

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