Good Book: The Zimmermann Telegram, by Barbara Tuchman

During World War I, Britain intercepted a coded telegram headed to the German Minister to Mexico. Decoded, it contained dynamite. Germany was floating an offer of United States territory to Mexico, in exchange for Mexican help keeping the Americans on their side of the Atlantic, of course. This is not to mention that they were working on getting Japan into the mix. Also, the message said, unrestricted submarine warfare would begin as of Feb. 1.

The above link from the Digital Classroom section of archives.gov has the background. If you scroll down the page and click on the Decoded Message document, you can read the message for yourself. For that matter, you can look at a picture of the coded telegram.

So, then, the British finally had proof of a direct threat to the United States. What did they do? The time not being ripe, they sat on the information for a while. Brits of that era did not acquire a reputation for having nerves of steel for nothing.

Besides, they really, really wanted to figure out a way to tip off the Americans without tipping off the Germans that their codes were broken.

Barbara W. Tuchman’s book, The Zimmermann Telegram, c. 1958, is a wonderfully detailed account of this high-stakes showdown and war of nerves. It is available used, or new in a reissue trade paperback from Random House, ISBN 0345324250.

If you know of any other above-average books about World War I, please tout them in the comments section.