What we’re about
The History Book Club of Los Angeles is a group of people who enjoy reading and discussing history books in a congenial atmosphere. Events are held by Zoom on Sunday afternoons, every 2-3 months depending on the book length. If you enjoy reading and discussing history and would like a chance to network, please join us.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- History Bookclub Meetup Spring 2025 - Paris 1919Link visible for attendees
Hello History Bookclub Members,
Thank you for your votes. Our next history bookclub selection is:
Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by Margaret Macmillan.We will meet on Sunday April 27 from 12:30 PM Pacific. Please join with the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89226791191?pwd=JiU5n6Xt08wp2ww0jNWF1dGh8twwBq.1
Meeting ID: 892 2679 1191
Passcode: historyThe book is listed at 592 pages, but without notes is 494 pg. Make sure to find the revised 2019 edition:
https://amzn.to/4gOiX3qWritten by the great granddaughter of David LLoyd George, this history of the Versailles Treaty was a NY Times bestseller.
In 1919, after the war to end all wars, men and women from all over the world converged on Paris for the Peace Conference. At its heart were the leaders of the three great powers - Woodrow Wilson, Lloyd George and Clemenceau. Kings, prime ministers and foreign ministers with their crowds of advisers rubbed shoulders with journalists and lobbyists for a hundred causes - from Armenian independence to women's rights. There had never been anything like it before, and there never has been since.
For six extraordinary months the city was effectively the centre of world government as the peacemakers wound up bankrupt empires and created new countries. They pushed Russia to the sidelines, alienated China and dismissed the Arabs, struggled with the problems of Kosovo, of the Kurds, and of a homeland for the Jews.
The peacemakers failed to prevent another war. Margaret MacMillan argues that they have unfairly been made scapegoats for the mistakes of those who came later.
Paris 1919 offers a prismatic view of the moment when much of the modern world was first sketched out.
See you in April. Have a great holiday.
Selwyn & DC
