Dimensions
139 x 216 x 23mm
In January 1917, with the First World War locked in stalemate and the United States still sitting on the sidelines, a telegram from Zimmermann, the German Foreign Secretary, to the German Ambassador in Mexico was intercepted and sent to Whitehall for routine decoding in the legendary Room 40. As the secret message was unravelled it became clear that this was no ordinary cable.
In the book that established her reputation, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Barbara Tuchman provides a real life thriller with this detailed study of the telegram which, it transpired, promised parts of the American Southwest to the Mexican government if the latter would enter the war on Germany's side.
The impact of the telegram was to propel the United States into the war and to change the course of the twentieth century.