Wilson (book)
Wilson is a 2013 biography of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. Scott Berg. The book is a New York Times Best Seller.[1]
Author
United States
English
September 10, 2013
Hardcover
832
Reception[edit]
Reviewers, such as Bruce Ramsey, have sought to compare Berg's book with other biographies of Wilson. For The Seattle Times, Ramsay wrote: "Berg's biography has a fine feeling for Wilson and the story of his life, but he does present Wilson mostly from Wilson's point of view. For a more critical look at the 20th century's first war president, the reader will have to look elsewhere, such as Thomas Fleming's 'The Illusion of Victory' (2003)."[17] In The Daily Beast, Michael Kazin wrote that "Berg uncovers few significant details that previous biographers—the best of whom are Arthur Link and John Milton Cooper, Jr.—neglected."[18]
Several reviewers compare Berg's telling unfavorably to John M. Cooper's. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said: "He brings nothing new to the conventional evaluation of Wilson the president (for the best treatment, read John M. Cooper's 2009 "Woodrow Wilson")."[19] Publishers Weekly also makes this comparison, with the reviewer stating: "This won't replace John Milton Cooper Jr.'s superb 2009 biography ... ."[20] Bob Blaisdell writing for The Christian Science Monitor goes further, arguing that Berg "lacks what Cooper repeatedly credits Wilson with having: boldness", and comments: "Given a choice of reading, take Cooper's fine and authoritative 'Woodrow Wilson: A Biography,' which is still in print."[21] In The New Yorker, Jill Lepore writes: "A sharp, subtle, and more squarely political biography is Woodrow Wilson by American historian John M. Cooper.[22] When asked about Cooper's book, Berg admitted he had not read it but did glance at it long enough to ensure that the two books began and finished differently.[10][23][a]
The reviewer in Publishers Weekly questions the use of Biblical chapter titles, saying that "Berg's likening of Wilson's life to biblical stages is overkill."[20] Walter Stahr also questions these appellations. For example, the chapter "Passion", covering the debate in the Senate over the Treaty of Versailles, begins: "And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head." Stahr comments that "Berg apparently wants us to view Wilson as Jesus, reviled and beaten by the Roman soldiers. Does he want us to think that Wilson was the divine Christ?"[24] Jeff Shesol asks a similar question, writing: "Berg's decision to endow each chapter with a biblical title and a passage of scripture raises the question of whether he sees Wilson as a Christ figure or merely as a man with a Christ complex ... ."[25]
Martin Rubin writes in The Washington Times that Berg "succeeds magnificently in elucidating Woodrow Wilson the man" but "as I read on, I felt increasingly that the further Mr. Berg moved from Wilson himself into the wider world, the less satisfying his portrait."[26] Stephen Loosley writes in The Australian that "at times Berg's obvious affection for his subject causes him to be a little too generous."[27] Jeff Shesol agrees, arguing that "Berg is simply too enamored of Wilson to provide a balanced appraisal."[25]
In an essay written specifically in answer to the biography, noted Wilson biographer John Milton Cooper offers his perspective, including this overarching comment: "The quality of the writing in the book, the pleasure in reading it, and the warm human impression it leaves of its subject are the good news. The bad news is that the book leaves out much that it ought to include and includes some that it ought to leave out."[28] As an example of what he felt should have been included, Cooper says: "In spite of the book's strength in depicting Wilson's family life, it is also oddly unsatisfactory about one of its most important figures: his father."[28] As another example, Cooper states: "Equally glaring is the lack of attention to Wilson's thought."[28] Cooper questions Berg's inclusion of the memories of Wilson's wife by saying that "Kristie Miller's excellent biography of Wilson's two wives could have raised red flags about Edith's memory."[28] Cooper not only disputes Berg's framing of Wilson's racism but also his religious perspective, calling into question the use of Bible quotations at the beginning of each chapter. He writes: "Other reviewers have found this practice tiresome; I found it unenlightening and strange."[28] Cooper ends by saying: "To sum up, this biography has much to recommend it, especially the pleasure it affords in reading it. Its shortcomings make it far from balanced or comprehensive, much less "definitive."[28]
Wilson was missing from the longlist for the 2013 National Book Awards.[29]
Current politics[edit]
In January 2013, Berg approached The New York Times offering to write a column for the 100th anniversary of Wilson's inauguration and to "contemporize this story and really make it reverberate by writing a kind of open letter to President Obama."[10] In the op-ed, Berg offered the following advice: "All sides should remember Wilson and the single factor that determines the country's glorious successes or crushing failures: cooperation."[30]
During interviews following the release of the book, Berg compared Wilson's diplomacy to then President Barack Obama's handling of the Syrian civil war, saying: "Over the last few weeks, Obama has been addressing the crisis in a very Wilsonian manner, raising the question of whether the United States was meant to be the policeman of the world."[31] In another interview, Berg said that "Wilson is a real model for Obama."[32] When asked during an interview to compare the two Presidents, he says: "Certainly they're both considered rather aloof, they both come out of academia, they're both Constitutional scholars ...."[33] Berg admitted that on some days he wrote the book as if it was about Obama. He said: "As I was writing, there were literally days I would say, 'I'm going to forget the name is Wilson. I'll pretend it is Obama. And I will write it as though it is Obama.'"[5]
Barrie Dunsmore sees parallels as well, arguing that "Berg told NPR this past week, 'I found during my research there were documents in which Lodge and other Republicans were talking about opposing any peace that Wilson brought back from Paris, no matter what it was.…so whatever Wilson had, was not going to fly.' Sound familiar?"[34]
Film version[edit]
Warner Bros. is negotiating the movie rights to the biography, with Leonardo DiCaprio to star in the title role, as well as serve as producer.[52]