The Idealist: Wendell Willkie’s Wartime Quest to Build One World (Session 1)

The World Citizen Book Club launched a two-session series on The Idealist: Wendell Willkie’s Wartime Quest to Build One World by Samuel Zipp. Author Dr. Samuel Zipp joined participants for an in-depth discussion of the book’s first half, exploring the origins and significance of Willkie’s vision for a world beyond narrow nationalism.

About the Book

In August 1942, as fascism threatened the world, former Republican presidential contender Wendell Willkie undertook an unprecedented airplane journey to visit battlefronts in Africa, the Middle East, Russia, and China. The bestseller he published upon his return, One World, challenged Americans to resist the “America first” doctrine and warned against narrow nationalism. Willkie urged citizens to end colonialism and embrace equality of opportunity for every race and nation. Zipp argues that the term “one world” that Willkie popularized became shorthand for the transformative charge of global connection unleashed by the war—later adopted by world government advocates, anti-imperialists, environmentalists, and others. Published by Harvard University Press.

About the Author

Samuel Zipp is a cultural and urban historian at Brown University. He has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, n+1, The Baffler, and The Nation. He is the author of Manhattan Projects: The Rise and Fall of Urban Renewal in Cold War New York and coedited a collection of the writings of Jane Jacobs.

Discussion Highlights

The first session focused on the historical context of Willkie’s wartime journey and the political landscape that made his internationalist message both radical and resonant. Participants explored how Willkie’s challenge to American exceptionalism connected to broader movements for global cooperation and considered whether his example offers undiscovered resources for addressing today’s resurgent nationalism.