The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume II

This volume gathers the personal correspondence and memoirs of a diplomat who stood at the crossroads of American and British policy during the first great conflict of the twentieth century. Through candid letters, the listener follows Walter Page as he receives the shocking news of the Lusitania sinking, watches the stunned silence of London’s elite, and grapples with the moral and political implications for a nation still far from war. His measured tone and quiet resolve offer a window into the uneasy balance between public duty and private grief.

Beyond that fateful evening, the collection reveals Page’s steady navigation of wartime negotiations, his uneasy rapport with figures such as Colonel House and the British Foreign Secretary, and his reflections on America’s gradual shift from neutrality toward active involvement. Listeners will hear the texture of diplomatic life—briefings, secret meetings, and the weight of decisions that shaped the Allied effort—presented in the intimate voice of a man whose letters preserve both the urgency and humanity of a world on the brink.