The Zimmermann Telegram

By: Barbara W. Tuchman

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

In the dark winter of 1917, as World War I was deadlocked, Britain knew that Europe could be saved only if the United States joined the war. But President Wilson remained unshakable in his neutrality. Then, with a single stroke, the tool to propel America into the war came into a quiet British office. One of countless messages intercepted by the crack team of British decoders, the Zimmermann telegram was a top-secret message from Berlin inviting Mexico to join Japan in an invasion of the United States. Mexico would recover her lost American territories while keeping the U.S. occupied on her side of the Atlantic.

How Britain managed to inform America of Germany's plan without revealing that the German codes had been broken makes for an incredible, true story of espionage, intrigue, and international politics, as only Barbara W. Tuchman could tell it.

©1958 Barbara W. Tuchman (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A true, lucid thriller…. Mrs. Tuchman makes the most of it with a creative writer’s sense of drama and a scholar’s obeisance to the evidence.” ( New York Times)

“The tale has most of the ingredients of an Eric Ambler spy thriller.” ( Saturday Review)

Very enlightening!

A very enlightening exposition of the German's intrigue that forced America into war. i knew about the telegram, but not all of the action that led to it and the players involved.

How did USA get in WW1?

Easy to follow and full of details.

Still relavent even 100 year s after the event and 60years after the book was written.

Intrigue, Spycraft, Diplomacy, and True History

President Woodrow Wilson campaigned on keeping America out of the Great War in Europe and for him, it was not just a political promise. Wilson believed that war should be avoided at any cost and that was particularly true of such a nonsensical war as this one. With the war at a stalemate and just keeping it at a stalemate was costing countless lives and doing great harm to the world’s economy. Britain especially wanted America’s help but Wilson seemed oblivious to any pressure and continued to push for what he called “peace without victory,” meaning that enough lives had been lost and neither side was going to win as things stood, so it was best just to call it a tie and send the troops home. At the same time, both sides knew that, if America did join in, whichever side that she joined would then be able to win. And both sides knew that, if America did join, it would be on the side of Britain and France, not Germany. But even when Germany again started sinking even passenger boats crossing the Atlantic, Wilson balked, and even when the Lusitania was sunk with the loss of almost 1,200 lives, 126 of them American, he still refused. 

Then codebreakers in British intelligence deciphered an intercepted German diplomatic cable from Germany’s Foreign Secretary Zimmerman to the embassy in Washington for transfer to the embassy in Mexico that they felt should change Wilson’s mind. The problem was, if they revealed it to the Americans, and America acted on that basis, it would reveal to the Germans that their code had been broken, which the British didn’t want to allow to happen. They had to think of a way to share the information that would not  reveal its source and when they did, the contents were earth shattering. It has come to be known as the Zimmerman telegram.

Zimmerman feared that Germany’s return to unrestricted submarine attacks on civilian shipping would eventually lead US would enter the war and they proposed that Mexico and Japan join with Germany and its allies, thus keeping the US occupied along its own borders, but with the understanding that in the postwar peace settlement, Mexico could regain her former territories that had been lost to the US–Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico and possibly even Japan gaining some American territory. (It should be noted that there is no indication that Mexico or Japan ever responded to this proposal and certainly neither took any actions against the US.) It’s uncertain if this was the main reason, but shortly after Wilson was made aware of this, he asked Congress for a declaration of war. 

This book is quite old and there is at least one newer study that had access to documents that were still classified at the time, but the ultimate findings are about the same and this is a very interesting and well-researched account. Its descriptions of the story is told in detail including the months-long struggle to figure out how to reveal the news to the US while making it look like the news came from a leak other than from a decrypted cable, existing unrest in Mexico at the time, Wilson’s agonizing over the many events and his stubborn (in the neutral sense of that word) focus on negotiations for peace, the various intrigues, even the naivity and unfounded trust placed on the Germans and the Kaiser. It also deals with the effects on the Japanese and the discriminatory legislationation that soured relations with this nation who was an ally in that war. 

It’s a book that makes history more like a spy novel, interesting and exiting with plot twists and personality conflicts. And, the more we know of the real details of the behind-the-scenes dealings in history, the easier that can be. Therere is a newer book and I have not read it, but I can say that this one hit the spot quite well. 

incredible story.

A great companion piece to Guns of August. Wonderful narrator as usual. highly recommend.

Poor sound quality

Any additional comments?

In format 3, this was very difficult to listen to. I had to increase volume well over that used for playing other books I have downloaded from Audible, and even at that volume words were sometimes unintelligible.

Stunning look at a forgotten piece of history

Any additional comments?

Not as well known as other books by Barbara Tuchman, the Zimmermann Telegram covers an astounding piece of WWI history. The British codebreakers deserve their recognition, but so do the ingenious methods of the British govt to find a way to release the info without compromising the secrecy of the codebreaking. The obstinacy of President Wilson and his insistence on doing things his way comes into sharp focus. In order to conduct diplomatic negotiations, he allowed the Germans to send messages via the State Dept. Against the council of his own officials, Wilson allowed the Germans to send their messages CODED, never dreaming that they would abuse the privilege. When he found out that the Germans were plotting against the U.S. simultaneously, his anger against them was intractable. The plan sounded crazy: worried that the newly implemented policy of unrestricted u boat warfare might bring the U.S. into the war, the Germans decided to negotiate with Mexico (and Japan) to attack the U.S. in exchange for Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. When the contents of the telegram were released, there was some debate as to whether it was genuine. Instead of denying it and possibly delaying U.S. action with the concern it was a fake, foreign secreatry Zimmermann, the author of the telegram, confirmed its veracity with the justification that it was a proposal in case the U.S. declared war. It is a fascinating story from start to end.

Short, Sweet, And To The Point

The topic is interesting and is delivered in a compact package, which makes this a great book to ease into academic history novels from more stylistic "History Lite" novels.

Perhaps Tuchman's best work.

What made the experience of listening to The Zimmermann Telegram the most enjoyable?

This isn't just history. It reads (Listens) like a political thriller.

What did you like best about this story?

This may be Tuchman's best work. I've read four of her books and this one--perhaps because of the length--didn't bog down in the third quarter.

What does Wanda McCaddon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I very much enjoyed hearing a woman read this book. So very often history and political thrillers are the exclusive province of men. An excellent reading of this fine book.

Excellent Reading

The reading of this book kept my interest more than it ever would if I had been reading the book. The pauses and inflection in her voice kept me waiting for what was going to happen next. Great performance!

A Great Spy Story!

Intrigue, espionage and deception at the highest levels ... all leading to world war and the collapse of empires. A thrilling true tale as captured by the incomparable Barbara Tuchman. Absolutely worth the investment of your time and attention.