Krupp, Alfried: The industrialist and CEO of the Krupp conglomerate, who hosted the resisters’ art auction in Weapons of Peace, benefited heavily from his ties to the Nazis. He was convicted of crimes against humanity for his insistence on using slave laborers—including young Jewish girls—inside his factories during World War II. His son Arndt was Hitler’s honorary godson.
Lenné, Peter Joseph: This landscape architect designed the modern adaptation of Berlin’s Tiergarten in the 1800s—hundreds of acres of greenery, water, and meandering pathways set firmly in the heart of the city. The park’s name in German does translate to “garden of beasts.” Once a royal hunting ground full of animals, including lions, it was destroyed during Allied attacks toward the end of the war but has since been restored to its former glorious status, complete with all the statues and monuments described in Weapons of Peace.
Lorenz, Konrad: The Austrian-born Nobel Prize–winning scientist is considered one of the founding fathers of ethology, the study of animal behavior. His work with respect to imprinting demonstrated how geese and other wildlife can form attachments and deep first impressions based on limited and sometimes extreme data, remaining firmly rooted to their initial decisions. In humans, a similar tendency related to first impressions has more recently been labeled as anchoring—which is discussed in Weapons of Peace, building on initial research by the psychologists Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky, and others, and on subsequent research by the author of Weapons of Peace and his son, Jasper. As such, Everett Nash was well ahead of his time in his discussions with Emma about anchoring and its impact.
McCarty, Jennifer: In 2008, this metallurgist, researcher, and writer co-authored with Tim Foecke the nonfiction book What Really Sank the Titanic, which explores the belief that poor-quality rivets were central to the huge ship’s fate after it collided with an iceberg. It can be said with confidence that Everett Nash was not responsible for this theory in 1912-1913.
Meitner, Lise: As a leading physicist of her generation, she worked closely with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman in discovering the power released through the nuclear fission of uranium in 1938. Meitner was consulted from afar during the final stages of discovery, because, as a Jew, she’d finally decided months earlier that she had to flee Germany. Hahn, in fact, did not give her a gold coin to facilitate her passage but, rather, gifted her a diamond ring he’d inherited from his mother—which Meitner could use to bribe border guards as needed.
Morrison, Herbert: He was a Labour politician who served as Churchill’s home secretary in the wartime coalition government. Morrison was involved in the aftermath of three-year-old Rosemary Clarke’s death from a V-2 missile and efforts to cover up the event to avoid panic in the streets of London. There are photos of him surveying the damage at Rosemary’s home after the strike. Morrison went on to organize Labour’s unexpected election victory over Churchill’s Conservatives in 1945, serving as deputy prime minister to Labour’s Clement Attlee.
Nightingale, Florence: In the mid-1800s, consistent with trying to standardize and professionalize the training of doctors, Nightingale became known as the founder of the modern nursing profession, establishing a nursing school at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. During the Crimean War with Russia, Nightingale was appointed to oversee the introduction of female nurses to military hospitals in Turkey, revolutionizing the delivery of care and dramatically improving survival rates. For her role in statistical analysis related to the army and hospitals, she became the first woman to be elected a fellow of Great Britain’s Statistical Society.
Oshima, Hiroshi: The Japanese ambassador to Nazi Germany from the auction scene in Weapons of Peace was described by one observer as being “more Nazi than the Nazis.” The poorly encoded dispatches Oshima sent from Germany to Japan, hundreds of which were intercepted by the Allies, proved to be among the best sources of information on Hitler’s intentions in Europe, affecting the outcome of the war. Oshima was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life in prison. He died in 1975, still apparently unaware that his messages had ever been intercepted.
Romersa, Luigi: The award-winning Italian journalist stood by his story until his death in 2007, saying that he witnessed an atomic test—as described in Weapons of Peace based on Romersa’s firsthand accounts. He said that he was sent as Mussolini’s envoy to confirm that the Nazis had a “disintegration weapon” that would change the course of the war and history as promised by Hitler. While Romersa wasn’t certain of the name of the island where the test took place, it may well have been Rügen, according to the historian Rainer Karlsch. No one ever disproved Romersa’s story.
Speer, Albert: While still in his late twenties, Speer became the Nazi Party’s primary building architect and one of Hitler’s most trusted advisers. Hitler’s plans for converting Berlin into Germania, the Third Reich’s global capital, were only made grander by the ambitious, fawning Speer, who oversaw all the blueprints and their initial execution. Countless Berlin homes were leveled from 1938 to 1941 to make way for Germania’s boulevards and buildings, with tens of thousands of Jews displaced, contributing to the formation of Jewish ghettos and, ultimately, concentration camps. Camps were often located near stone and clay quarries, where laborers could produce polished materials destined for completing Germania once the war had been won. In 1942, Speer was promoted to minister of armaments. He was convicted at the Nuremberg trials as a war criminal, receiving a twenty-year sentence. He died in 1981.
Von Braun, Magnus: He consistently supported his brother Wernher and was the first to come into contact with the Americans to surrender, riding a bicycle with a white handkerchief attached as he approached them in the Alps. Along with Wernher, he moved to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip—the secret postwar program that ultimately recruited sixteen hundred German scientists, engineers, and technicians to work for America. Magnus would later work for Chrysler’s missile group and then for its car division. He died in 2003, outliving his brother by more than two decades. He married twice and had three children.
Von Braun, Wernher: Wernher’s life and work with rockets were very much as described in Weapons of Peace, including his invention of the V-2, his arrest by the Nazis in March 1944 due to concerns about his loyalty, and his citing of religious reasons as he surrendered to the Allies. He came to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip, maintaining that he was forced to work with the Nazis and that he tried to oppose the underground operations that killed thousands of prisoners during the construction of his missiles. After working on rockets to deliver American bombs, he saw his dream come true: through NASA’s Apollo program, he sent the first man to the moon. He married his first cousin and had three children, receiving America’s National Medal of Science before his death in 1977.
Von Stauffenberg, Claus: He was the German noble and army officer who resisted the Nazis from the inside, leading the failed assassination attempt against Hitler in July 1944, as portrayed by Tom Cruise in the film Valkyrie. Stauffenberg was executed soon afterward near Berlin’s Tiergarten in the military’s Bendlerblock building complex, which now includes a thoughtful museum dedicated to those who courageously resisted the Nazis. He had a wife—and five children, who were apparently forced to change their names in order to distance themselves from their father’s “traitorous” actions in the aftermath of his attempted coup and death.
Vrba, Rudolf: He and fellow Jewish inmate Alfréd Wetzler escaped Auschwitz in April 1944 and immediately wrote a report describing for the first time the realities and horrors of this Nazi facility, complete with diagrams and including, convincingly, a label from a canister of Zyklon B, the lethal cyanide-based gas used by the Nazis. Their report was circulated to Jewish advocacy groups, the Allied forces, and news media. It confirmed in a highly credible manner what had long only been rumored, while saving thousands of lives after the Allies acted on this report to limit the transport of more Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz.
A Note About Negotiation
In one of my favorite books, On the Manner of Negotiating with Princes, written in 1715, the French diplomat François de Callières spoke to the need for his king and his nation to capture the best practices in negotiation. His fear was that the war machinery of state, reinforced by the comprehensive training of so many French soldiers and leaders in military strategies and weaponry, could too easily overwhelm the critical role of negotiation—in which so few rules were codified and so few trained.
De Callières’s book would be one of the earliest efforts to teach readers how to negotiate, even if his primary intention was to impart his wisdom to a limited set of readers, and just two in particular: France’s new boy king, Louis XV, and the duke of Orléans, who would rule until his great-nephew was mature enough to govern the nation himself.
Across the centuries, other voices would join de Callières in calling for greater awareness of the importance of negotiation in avoiding deadly conflicts, whether between states or individuals. Following World War II—with the deaths of fifty-five million and the advent of nuclear weapons—this chorus of voices grew more pronounced. Contributions to our understanding of influence and human tendencies have since accelerated, coming from all fields and including the brilliant voices of people such as my mentors Roger Fisher and Howard Raiffa, as well as Robert Axelrod, Katharine Briggs, Robert Cialdini, Carol Gilligan, Sheila Heen, Herman Kahn, Daniel Kahneman, David Keirsey, David Lax, Isabel Myers, John Nash, Joe Navarro, Bruce Patton, Tom Schelling, Jim Sebenius, Amos Tversky, and Bill Ury.
All of these voices have influenced my thinking and many are reflected in Negotiating with Giants, my nonfiction book, which I’ve drawn upon for a number of the lessons imparted by Everett Nash to Emma Doyle in Weapons of Peace. While Nash was ahead of his time in the clarity with which he communicated his best practices, many of these practices have been employed for hundreds of years, as exemplified by de Callières’s sage book. But arguably, today, in a very different context centuries later, our understanding of human beings and how to influence them for the better is of greater importance than ever before, given our mounting global challenges.
Weapons of Peace, which I believe is the first full-length novel to explicitly explore the art and science of negotiation in such detail, is my own humble attempt to tell a good story that also broadens the awareness and application of advanced influence skills. By learning from history, we are informed for the future. Through my books, teaching, and advisory work, I add my small voice to those who have gone before me, the goal being to arm citizens and leaders everywhere with this knowledge—to improve individual lives and our world.
I expect that François de Callières, Everett Nash, and Emma Doyle would revel in their exchanges if ever they were united in a single moment in time, and that you, as a reader of Weapons of Peace, might also delight in being a part of that conversation.
Peter D. Johnston
Acknowledgments
My son, Jasper, was the first person I asked about a novel focused on negotiation. He loved the idea and encouraged me to move ahead. He quickly became my partner—helping me structure the plot, develop the characters, conduct research, make edits, and crystallize my thinking, while constantly telling me that there had to be more action to keep him reading.
He was thirteen when we started on this odyssey together.
As I complete this novel in September 2018, it has taken me almost seven years to reach this point, usually by writing late at night after client work. From start to finish, my partner on this project has gone from being an eighth-grade student to a junior at Harvard. Thank you, Jasper. This book wouldn’t have been written without your incredible support as I juggled ideas, characters, family life, and work.
My daughter, Aysha, was ten when I started writing. As a teenager now and a freshman at Harvard, she has the maturity and the smarts to have acted more recently as my source of sober second thought—my authorial Senate, you might say. She looked over each page, providing honest, keen feedback and vetting related to medicine, common logic, and the book’s major themes. Thank you, Aysha.
My wife, Mary Lue, read manuscripts, provided honest feedback at each turn, and helped keep our home life sane. Thank you, Mary Lue.
With respect to friends and outside professionals, I want to highlight four in particular, recognizing that any errors of fact or phrasing are entirely my own:
Sarah-Dean Kirby is a dear friend, an avid reader, and a retired nurse, who read my earliest drafts, providing medical expertise that Emma Doyle would know. She also introduced me to three incredible nurses—Barbara Hutchison and Mary Mattison, student nurses during World War II, and Joan Thomas, who served in the war—all of whom educated me about nursing in the 1940s. These four nurses alone hold responsibility for the specific injuries suffered by Nash, more so than those who shot him. Thank you, Sarah-Dean—and thank you, Barb, Mary, and Joan.
Barbara J. Falk is a political philosopher and legal scholar whose interests include World War II, specifically war crimes and war-crimes tribunals. Barbara loved Weapons of Peace upon first reading it, and gave me copious, page-by-page notes about the Nazis and the times, suggesting a range of details that added to the feel and authenticity of this novel. Thank you, Barbara.
Julie Miesionczek is an accomplished independent editor who immediately understood Emma Doyle and her story. She cleaned up my drafts with thorough fact-checking, pointed questions, and an eye for both the big picture and the smallest of details. Thank you, Julie.
Yao Cui is a brilliant geoscientist with previous experience in uranium mining. He helped me navigate the opaque world of nuclear materials and confirmed for me what assumptions I could make about potential Nazi capabilities within the context of a novel based on some very real dynamics and facts. Thank you, Yao.
In addition, I want to recognize and thank these friends, family members, and professionals for their efforts, support, and valued suggestions: Carol Anderson, Mara Bauer, Jasper Blake, Pippa Blake, Jules Bloch, Constance Bourguignon, Andrew Brooks, Alex Dutton, George Eggberry, Derek Emmerson, Naomi Emmerson, Juliette Fay, Jennifer Fletcher, Keven Fletcher, Jamie Fraser, Penny Goldrick, Cynthia Johnston, Don Johnston, Heather Johnston, Pat Johnston, Kyra Jones, Jeremy Katz, Shana Kirby, Jake Langley, Carlo Lazzari, Amei Mai, Terry Matts, George McTaggart, Sabrina McTaggart, Tory McTaggart, Tim Miller, Jean-Marc Perelmuter, Bobbi Plecas, Andy Rodford, Dave Schneider, Tere Tarangle, Alissa Theodor, Rob Tyrie, Chris Watt, and Pete Wilson.
I first heard a version of the orange story, relayed by Nash to Emma, from my mentor Roger Fisher—a story also recounted in Getting to Yes. I met Olga the matchmaker through my former colleague Don Thompson, who tells his version of her story much better than I ever could.
Finally, although I drew on hundreds of different texts as resources for this writing journey, I found the following books to be particularly helpful in setting the stage for Emma and Everett’s story: A Concise History of Nazi Germany, by Joseph W. Bendersky; Berlin at War, by Roger Moorhouse; Eva Braun: Life with Hitler, by Heike B. Görtemaker; Grey and Scarlet: Letters from the War Areas by Army Sisters on Active Service, edited by Ada Harrison; Hitler: A Biography, by Ian Kershaw; Is Paris Burning?, by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre; Lady Baillie at Leeds Castle, by Alan Bignell; Leeds Castle, edited by Jessica Hodge; Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program That Brought Nazi Scientists to America, by Annie Jacobsen; Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World, by Margaret MacMillan; Sisters in Arms: British Army Nurses Tell Their Story, by Nicola Tyrer; The German Atomic Bomb, by David Irving; Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World, by Tom Zoellner; and Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War, by Michael J. Neufeld.
About the Author
Peter D. Johnston is a negotiator, adviser, mediator, and speaker whose expertise is sought worldwide. He has worked with clients ranging from Wall Street bankers, UN officials, and polit
ical leaders to battered sales teams, cheated spouses, and convicted felons. His groundbreaking results have been formally recognized by the US government for their positive economic and social impact. He’s a Harvard MBA, trained journalist, former corporate and investment banker, and the Managing Director of NAI—a boutique consulting firm founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts (www.nailimited.com).
Peter has been featured in media around the world, talking about his work and commenting on newsworthy negotiations, volatile conflicts and successful influence strategies related to politics, economics, and personal relationships. Dozens of groups have interviewed or quoted him, including: CNN, ABC, FOX Business News, Oprah & Friends, US News & World Report, Business Week, Wired Magazine, Embassy Magazine, The Globe and Mail, The National Post and The Wall Street Journal.
Also by Peter D. Johnston
How do you negotiate with Wal-Mart? With America’s President over going to war? A pay raise from an intimidating boss? More money for a struggling start-up? Sweeping social change? Your survival if you’re taken hostage by an armed killer? In this award-winning bestseller (non-fiction), you will travel across time through riveting, real-life David and Goliath negotiation stories—uncovering the secrets and strategies of successful smaller players so you, too, can get what you want against the odds.
“Very valuable.” —CNN News, Issue #1
“Engaging, poignant stories with strategies so precise you feel as though you’re prying into top secret files.” —Dr. William Hobbs, Author of The Chosen People
“Negotiation expert Peter Johnston has written a highly readable book…full of examples of inventive things upstart companies and seemingly powerless individuals have done to expand their businesses; exact social change; or deal with unequal personal relationships, while ensuring they aren’t pulverized in the process.” —The National Post
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