During a pivotal few months in the middle of the Great War, all sides—Germany, Britain, and America—believed the war could be concluded, which would have saved millions of lives and changed the course of history. The German chancellor secretly sought President Woodrow Wilson's mediation to end the war, just as British ministers and France's president also concluded that the time was right. Uncovering important details about this crossroads, Philip Zelikow describes how tantalizingly close these far-sighted statesmen came to ending the war, examining how some leaders rose to the occasion while others shrank from it or chased other ambitions.

"Zelikow shines fresh light on a major historical crossroads…. Outstanding revisionist history demonstrating what could have been a far more peaceful 20th century."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)