Paris 1919 - Margaret Macmillan [3]
At Dayton we were working on only one small part of the puzzle; in Paris they worked on the world. Margaret MacMillan’s brilliant portrait of the men of Paris, what they tried to do, where they succeeded, and why they failed, is especially timely now. This story illuminates, as only great history can, not only the past but also the present. It could help guide us in the future. I only regret that it was not available a decade ago. But here it is: an irresistible voyage through history.
Acknowledgments
This book has my name on the title page, but it would not exist without the great many people who encouraged me to tackle such a huge subject, who prodded me on when I got discouraged and who bore with me when I only wanted to talk about the League of Nations. I must single out some for particular thanks. Sandra Hargreaves, Avi Shlaim, Peter Snow and Lord Weidenfeld helped turn an idea into a serious project. Grant McIntyre and Matthew Taylor provided invaluable and meticulous editing in London, matched only by the outstanding work of Joy de Menil and her team in New York. I owe an immeasurable intellectual debt to my colleague and friend Bob Bothwell, who over the years helped me to clarify my ideas not just on the Peace Conference but on the writing of history. Orde Morton, Thomas Barcsay, David MacMillan, Catharina MacMillan, Thomas MacMillan, Alex MacMillan, Megan MacMillan, Ann MacMillan, Peter Snow, Daniel Snow and Barbara Eastman read parts and gave me much-needed advice. My parents, Eluned and Robert MacMillan, read every word, often several times, without complaint. I had two outstanding researchers: Rebecca Snow, who found the illustrations, and John Ondrovcik, who checked the text and compiled the bibliography. Bob Manson, Al Wargo and Errol Aspevig provided support for my research at different stages.
For their consent to quote from material in their collections or for which they hold copyright, I am grateful to the following: the National Archives of Scotland for the Lothian Papers (GD 40/17); Nigel Nicolson for Harold Nicolson, Peacemaking, 1919 (London: Methuen, 1964); the Clerk of the Records, House of Lords Record Office, acting on behalf of the Beaverbrook Foundation Trust for the Lloyd George Papers; Princeton University Press for Arthur S. Link, ed., The Deliberations of the Council of Four, 2 volumes (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1992); and the Trustees of the British Library for the Balfour Papers. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, but in the event of any omissions the author would be glad to hear from them.
I am grateful as well to my former employer, Ryerson University, for giving me time and to St. Antony’s College, Oxford, for a wonderful term as a Senior Associate Member. The Snows and MacMillans in London and the Daniel-Shlaims in Oxford offered unstinting hospitality and encouragement. If this book does not reflect all this, the fault is mine.
NOTE ON PLACE-NAMES
Many of the places mentioned in this book have several names. For example, L’viv (in present-day Ukraine) is variously Léopol, Lemberg, Lwów or Lvov. I have generally given the names currently used, but where there is a familiar name in English, for example Munich, I have used that. In the case of particular controversies at the Peace Conference, I have followed the usage of 1919: Danzig (Gdanńsk), Fiume (Rijeka), Memel (Klaip≐da), Shantung (Shandong), Teschen (Cieszyn or Těšín), Tsingtao (Qingdao).
Introduction
FOR SIX MONTHS IN 1919,