Paris 1919

By Margaret MacMillan,

Book cover of Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World

Book description

National Bestseller

New York Times Editors’ Choice

Winner of the PEN Hessell Tiltman Prize

Winner of the Duff Cooper Prize

Silver Medalist for the Arthur Ross Book Award
of the Council on Foreign Relations

Finalist for the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award

For six months in 1919, after the end…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

2 authors picked Paris 1919 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Until I read this book, I had thought of the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference in yawn-inducing terms of maps and endless documents. But MacMillan gave me a new angle of vision, with her brilliant descriptions of the statesmen’s personalities, the corridor conspiracies, the exotic characters on the conference’s fringes, and the high-handed manner in which a tiny clique of national leaders imposed unrealistic solutions.

I finally understood why World War I was not the “war to end all wars,” as the peacemakers hoped, but only a prelude to World War II and many of the conflicts still raging today.

From Charlotte's list on history books by women.

The complicated business of tidying up after the defeat of the Central Powers and the attempt to put in place a lasting peace is nowhere better covered than in this book. It performs the far from easy feat of explaining the myriad conflicting interests with a detached understanding, which helps one understand the power of the forces unleashed by the war and just how insoluble were the problems these had created.

Want books like Paris 1919?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Paris 1919.

Browse books like Paris 1919

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Germany, World War 1, and peace?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about Germany, World War 1, and peace.

Germany Explore 463 books about Germany
World War 1 Explore 875 books about World War 1
Peace Explore 26 books about peace