Richard M. Watt

Richard M. Watt (November 10, 1930 – January 25, 2015) was an American historian and writer.

Richard M. Watt
Born	Richard Martin Watt November 10, 1930 La Grange, Illinois, United States
Died	January 25, 2015(2015-01-25) (aged 81–82) Montclair, New Jersey, United States
Nationality	American
Occupations	Historian Writer

Biography

Richard Martin Watt was born on November 10, 1930, in La Grange, Illinois, United States.^[1][2] Watt attended Glen Ridge High School in Essex County, New Jersey, before reading English at Dartmouth College, graduating in the class of 1952.^[1] After graduating, Watt was commissioned as an ensign and spent three years serving in the United States Navy.^[1]

In 1963, Watt published his first book, Dare Call It Treason: The True Story of the French Army Mutinies of 1917.^[3]

Watt published his second book, The Kings Depart: The Tragedy of Germany: Versailles and the German Revolution in 1968.^[4]

In 1979, he published his third book, Bitter Glory, Poland and Its Fate, 1918–1939. The New York Times praised the book for telling a "dramatic tale dramatically" and delivering 'forceful' portraits and 'sound' judgments, but described Watt's concern for historical context or analysis as "remarkably modest".^[5] Anna M. Cienciala in the Slavic Review, broadly praised the work, describing it as a "well-written and well-balanced study of interwar Poland", but was critical of Watt's writings on foreign policy.^[6]

Watt was a long-term supporter of and donor to the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America.^[2]

Watt died on January 25, 2015, at Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, New Jersey.^[1]

Publications

• Dare Call It Treason: The True Story of the French Army Mutinies of 1917. Chatto & Windus. 1963. ISBN 978-0-671-19030-9. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• The Kings Depart: The Tragedy of Germany: Versailles and the German Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster. 1968. LCCN 68022973. OCLC 1150127832.
• Bitter Glory: Poland and Its Fate, 1918–1939. New York: Simon & Schuster. 1979.