More importantly, neither the Versailles treaty nor France was vindictive, reparations were not crushing, the treaty was not enforced with any consistency, and it did not seriously restrict German power, for Germany (where East Prussia had been separated from other portions for most of its history) had an improved strategic position under it. She declares firmly that a real defeat was not brought home to the German people, that the power of the peacemakers was limited, that they were not responsible for the fragmentation of Europe which predated their labors, and that the blockade did not starve Germany. Though she offers almost no opinions or non-territorial discussion on the other treaties, MacMillan punctures a number of long-standing myths about the Versailles treaty with Germany.
The book is accessible, colorful, often charming, and fun to read. She makes the most of confrontations, which were numerous in Paris, and her thumbnail sketches of participants are always incisive and frequently judicious. She has a sharp eye for enlivening tidbits, often relevant, and relishes rumors, usually undifferentiated. MacMillan, who teaches at the University of Toronto and is a great-granddaughter of David Lloyd George, writes extremely well in often evocative prose. She deals with most of Europe and much of Asia as well as Africa and North America occasionally, and addresses the full sweep of events from the 1918 Armistice until the 1923 treaty of Lausanne.
Instead, she provides generous amounts of background material and sometimes extensive "aftermaths" on given issues (often to the end of the century). MacMillan does not confine herself to the statesmen and diplomats, to Paris, or to the first six months of 1919. However, as is made clear by excellent maps and photographs as well as a foreword by American diplomat Richard Holbrooke, both titles are misnomers. Under its original title of Peacemakers (2001), Margaret MacMillan's detailed one-volume study of the peace settlement after World War I won three prizes in Britain.
Reviewed by Sally Marks (Independent Scholar) Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World.
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