'"[2] When asked why he spent the last thirteen years writing a biography of Wilson, Berg replied: "The simple answer is that he was the architect of much of the last century and re-drew the map of the world.

Berg was given a copy of Gene Smith's When the Cheering Stopped: The Last Years of Woodrow Wilson when he was in the 11th grade,[4] and his "budding obsession" has grown ever since.

[5] The author had four heroes when he was in high school: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Adlai Stevenson, Woodrow Wilson, and Don Quixote.

"[2] In 2013, he commented: "When most people think of Woodrow Wilson, they see a dour minister's son who never cracked a smile, where in fact he was a man of genuine joy and great sadness.

[10] Berg was the first allowed access to the correspondence of the President's second daughter Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre,[6] found when her son died a few years ago,[11] as well as the papers of his close friend and doctor, Cary T.

"[17] In The Daily Beast, Michael Kazin wrote that "Berg uncovers few significant details that previous biographers—the best of whom are Arthur Link and John Milton Cooper, Jr.—neglected.

"[19] Publishers Weekly also makes this comparison, with the reviewer stating: "This won't replace John Milton Cooper Jr.'s superb 2009 biography ...

"[21] In The New Yorker, Jill Lepore writes: "A sharp, subtle, and more squarely political biography is Woodrow Wilson by American historian John M.

For example, the chapter "Passion", covering the debate in the Senate over the Treaty of Versailles, begins: "And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head."

Stahr comments that "Berg apparently wants us to view Wilson as Jesus, reviled and beaten by the Roman soldiers.

"[25] In an essay written specifically in answer to the biography, noted Wilson biographer John Milton Cooper offers his perspective, including this overarching comment: "The quality of the writing in the book, the pleasure in reading it, and the warm human impression it leaves of its subject are the good news.

"[28] As an example of what he felt should have been included, Cooper says: "In spite of the book's strength in depicting Wilson's family life, it is also oddly unsatisfactory about one of its most important figures: his father.

"[28] Cooper not only disputes Berg's framing of Wilson's racism but also his religious perspective, calling into question the use of Bible quotations at the beginning of each chapter.

"[10] In the op-ed, Berg offered the following advice: "All sides should remember Wilson and the single factor that determines the country's glorious successes or crushing failures: cooperation.

"[32] When asked during an interview to compare the two Presidents, he says: "Certainly they're both considered rather aloof, they both come out of academia, they're both Constitutional scholars ...."[33] Berg admitted that on some days he wrote the book as if it was about Obama.

"[34] Warner Bros. is negotiating the movie rights to the biography, with Leonardo DiCaprio to star in the title role, as well as serve as producer.