The Guns of August

Books | History / Wars & Conflicts / World War I

4.3

(237)

Barbara W. Tuchman

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • “A brilliant piece of military history which proves up to the hilt the force of Winston Churchill’s statement that the first month of World War I was ‘a drama never surpassed.’”—Newsweek Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all timeIn this landmark account, renowned historian Barbara W. Tuchman re-creates the first month of World War I: thirty days in the summer of 1914 that determined the course of the conflict, the century, and ultimately our present world. Beginning with the funeral of Edward VII, Tuchman traces each step that led to the inevitable clash. And inevitable it was, with all sides plotting their war for a generation. Dizzyingly comprehensive and spectacularly portrayed with her famous talent for evoking the characters of the war’s key players, Tuchman’s magnum opus is a classic for the ages. The Proud Tower, the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Guns of August, and The Zimmermann Telegram comprise Barbara W. Tuchman’s classic histories of the First World War era

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Author

Barbara W. Tuchman

Pages

608

Publisher

Random House Publishing Group

Published Date

2009-07-22

ISBN

0307567621 9780307567628

Ratings

Google: 4

Community ReviewsSee all

"Overwritten in the best possible way."

M R

Max Rosenthal

"The Beginning of the End of the World This is the definitive telling of the month that ended history as we knew it and began our long journey to where we go instead."

T F

Terrell Fritz

"7/10"

Lil-Farrah

"An interesting view of the causes of WW1. "

Jennifer Bloyd

"I picked up this book as it has been credited with being a key to President John F. Kennedy’s restraint and skillful handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Guns of August allegedly made a big impact on Kennedy and alerted him to how countries could stumble into war through sheer stupidity and misunderstandings, and it made him determined to avoid the same fate. Below is a passage that was mentioned in the same paragraph as the above reference to The Guns of August book that initially made me interested in reading it: At the outbreak of WWI the ex–Chancellor of Germany, Prince von Bulow, said to his successor "How did it all happen?". His successor replied: "Ah, if only we knew." I think you need to be a real war buff to get the most out of this book. I might have had too high expectations going in, but it was a bit of a disappointment for me."

D G

Daniel Glaser