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“Considered the landmark account of WWI”
quivera-man wrote this review 4 hours ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“
Raja K wrote this review Saturday, October 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I have read many historical fiction books such as Colleen Mccullough's First Man in Rome series, the Alexander the Great Trilogy by Valerio Manfredi, Tides of War and Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. All these books and more have made me a fan of history. Like other history aficionados, I have also enjoyed watching television documentaries on various time periods in history shown on PBS, the A&E, and History channels. Though, as many other casual history admirers, the one thing I was never motivated to do was to go to the non-fiction sections of a bookstore or a library and buy or check-out a book on history. This was due to the belief that a history book had to be dry and without energy or passion. One of the first history books that I read all but showed me wrong regarding my previous views on history books. The reader of this article may ask, why I decided to pick up a history book at that time. A good question indeed. The answer is that it was a suggested extended reading option from a Western Civilization course. I decided to take the risk and invest my own spare time to read this book. Well without further delay and added suspense let me move to the point of this article, and that is the Guns of August.
The Guns of August, written by Barbara Tuchman, 1963 Pulitzer prize winning non-fiction book is a wonderful book describing the events of the first month of World War I. The Guns of August is a great example of how history should be done and depicts history with beautiful literature. Mrs. Tuchman captures the readers right off the bat in the first chapter with her description of King Edward's funeral. She creatively weaves in the background to the impending catastrophe of World War I by describing all of the royalty and dignitaries that are present at the funeral parade. The first paragraph in the first chapter is well written and representative of her literary skills.
So gorgeous was the spectacle on the May morning of 1910 when nine kings rode in the funeral of Edward VII of England ..After them came five heirs apparent, fourty more imperial or royal highnesses, seven queens-four dowager and three regnant The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history's clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again.
Mrs. Tuchman does not imagine or use her creativity in figuring out what was on the minds of people, she instead tells the reader exactly what the historical figure said or if she does not know she tells the reader so. She conveys the private emotions and the thoughts experienced by the great minds during that tense first month of the war, quoting from sources such as memoirs and autobiographies. Her ability to inject quotations from sources while maintaining her fluid prose style is amazing. She uses her creativity and imagination in weaving the facts together in a story. Last but not least what adds to the reading experience is the author's cunning ability to show connectivity between historical people and events. One of the great scenes in the book is depicted when King Albert makes his speech declaring that Belgium will not surrender to Germany. Meanwhile looking on is his son, who later as King Leopold III surrenders to German forces in 1940. Although at times some of the descriptions of the troop movements could seem tedious reading, the author provides detailed maps and studying these maps for a few minutes gave me a good understanding of the military strategies.
Based on my overall wonderful experience of reading the Guns of August, I would recommend it as a must read for all those casual history lovers who have always awed at the thought of picking up a history book. Although it is a book focusing on the first month of World War I, in my opinion it is a good book to be read in introductory Western Civilization courses to make the students aware of how creative writing history can be. This may at least inspire more students to read more history books, and then maybe a few of those would go on to become the next great Barbara Tuchman. For now, at least for a casual lover of history such as myself I will settle myself with the conclusion that reading a history book can be lots of fun.
”
“Synopsis: Droll and erudite Pulitzer Prize winning account of the first month of the first World War.
Tim W wrote this review Wednesday, September 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
My Take: I had wanted to read this book since reading RFK’s account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Serendipitously, ‘The Guns of August’ won the Pulitzer Prize in 1962 and as a result came across JFK’s desk just before the Missile Crisis. As a result, the book’s insights into the momentum of war and the myopia of military commanders had more real world impact than possibly any historical account before it. It’s no exaggeration to say that this book changed our understanding of organisational decision making forever.
Beyond this rich back story, The Guns of August is a really engaging read. Tuchman is a talented and dry writer (”with that marvelous incapacity to admit error that was ultimately to make him a Field-Marshal”), bringing detail and colour to the fascinating political and military narrative of the war. Tuchman’s impressive coverage of the personal peccadilloes and idiocies of the political and military leaders of the time is both terrifying and amusing (the Russian general who insisted that bullets were simply a fad and that the Bayonet would continue to rule supreme was a personal favourite). I haven’t read many history books that had had me chortling out loud like this one.
Highlights:
There are lots of highlight worthy passages in this book.
The first line:
“So gorgeous was the spectacle on the May morning of 1910 when nine kinds rode in the funeral of Edward VII of England that the crowd, waiting in hushed and black-clad awe, could not keep back gasps of admiration”. Sets the tone for the whole book.
The personal descriptions of the protagonists eg:
“The last-named, Prince Danilo, ‘an amiable, extremely handsome young man of delightful manners’, resembled the Merry Widow’s lover in more than name for, to the consternation of British functionaries, he had arrived for the funeral the night before accompanied by a ‘charming young lady of great personal attractions’ whom he introduced as his wife’s lady-in-waiting, come to London to do some shopping.’
Bismark’s prediction that the next war would be triggered by:
“Some damned foolish thing in the Balkans”
And finally, the Russian government’s decision to ban its troops from drinking vodka. Possibly a good military decision, but given that vodka was at that time a state monopoly and the army drank 1/3rd of all vodka sold in Russia(!), an economically ruinous one that contributed in no small part to the subsequent revolution.”“It was pretty dry and slow in some parts, but still interesting to see how everything played out.”
the_rick08 wrote this review Wednesday, September 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“World war one is incomprehensible. Agatha Christie was stunned at how it had wiped out a class, which from a modern perspective seems like a good thing. James Burke said that it was caused by white bread -- white bread needed fertilizer, fertilizer meant nitrogen, nitrogen meant explosives, spending on explosives meant using them, to justify more spending on explosives... The generals wound up in mortal terror that the men would simply stop fighting, and at times, they did stop. World war one was the end of capitalism as we knew it and the start of capitalism as it came to be.
Paul P wrote this review Sunday, August 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I don't mean to imply that Tuchman talks about Christie or Burke -- just that I find the war incomprehensible.
But Tuchman does a fantastic job of making the events of the war and the pattern it followed make sense. Not in a huge sweep of history sense, but in a step by step realism sense. She is amazing.”“Very good book.”
Glen B wrote this review Thursday, May 7 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The Guns of August is the best researched book I’ve ever read so far with such poised and skillful narrative style. Tuchman managed to entertain her readers with vivid, incredible details about the prelude to the first thirty days of World War I. She never cease in captivating our minds with epic tales of bravery, cowardice and indecisiveness.
Choccy wrote this review Sunday, March 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Did I say “entertain”? Ah indeed, this book is indubitably a remarkable form of entertainment. Battles, maneuvers, and actions in the field plus debates (internal and external) outside the field are told with great pace, well-structured and easy to understand. Even someone with pathetic sense of direction like yours truly could have a grasp on what happened without having to consult a map for every paragraph.
The book itself is divided into three parts: “Plans” (war preparation by the main actors: Germany, France, Britain and Russia), “Outbreak” and of course the most stirring part, “Battle”. It amazed me when I read the inanity and misjudgment by commanders in chief, field marshalls, generals and politicians, causing all the gratuitous calamities. I think I rolled my eyes lots of times or simply sighed with frustration when reading the accounts of Germans’ over-optimism, the Russians’ unpreparedness, the Frenchs’ over-confidence and the British’ reluctance. However, they’re human after all, right? Errare humane est.
The characters (historical figures) are unforgettable, especially the commanders such as Joffre, Foch, Gallieni, Moltke, Kluck, Samsonov, and the most annoying one, Sir John French, the British Field Marshall. Their thoughts, actions and interactions – which had got to be compiled meticulously and painstakingly from various memoirs and other sources – are making me feel as if I was reading a novel, of course without all the dramatization.
I applaud Tuchman for this superb and extraordinary work of literature which gave me a very real perspective on one of the greatest debacles in human history. The Guns of August truly deserves all the praises as a true military classic. ”
“This book was very well written and a must for war-buffs out there. This book focuses only on the back drop of WWI and ends within the first 25 days of combat. At this point, the war is in a very mobile stage and you get to read of the epic failure the Allies launched called "Plan 17" or how France was almost obliterated by the German battle plan written by Von Schliffen in the 1870 Franco-German War. The best part of this book for me was chapter one talking about how everyone in monarchical society is related: The Tzarina of Russia is from Germany; The British monarchy is descended from Germans; the Kaiser revers Nicholas (Tzar of Russia) like a dim-witted brother and so on. I also found that the authors best skill was continuously pointing out how everyone (generals) kept on screwing things up because they did not want to adapt to technology or had monstrous egos that resulted in the deaths of half a million people.
Bill N wrote this review Wednesday, February 4 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The only down side to this book is the author gets a little wordy, and should you not have time to read all 440 pages of 8 pitch font, here is the synopsis:
Russia: We will invade Germany, bullets and food, who needs this stuff?
Germany: Schedules, must stick to the schedule, what, we deviated from the schedule...NOW WHAT?
Britain: We are the world! France is falling and so has Belgium because it is tea time, it must be their fault...back to the tea.
France: Epic fail stopped by Parisian taxi cabs driving soldiers out of the capital to the front (ten miles away).
Enjoy ”
“When did the 20th century begin? The wrong answer begins with "January 1st...."
DiePittsburghDie wrote this review Wednesday, December 10 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Centuries are not marked by calendars, rather, centuries are defined by abrupt, profound shifts in our world view. We lived in the 19th century until July, 1914. What unfolded in August 1914 was the most cataclysmic month in human history. To say that August 1914 "changed everything" is both accurate and trite.
All women in the audience who wouldn't otherwise pick up a history book should consider how Barbara Tuchman shattered a glass ceiling. She took history from the clutches of the male historian cartel and gave it back to us. When Guns was first published, some historians were appalled that a non-historian (read: "a mere woman"), armed with "only" a masters degree, would have the gall to venture onto their turf. The Pulitzer prize committee thought differently, as have a few million ordinary people.
Fans of Tom Wolfe and the new journalism style, take note. Ms. Tuchman beat Mr. Wolfe to the punch, with weightier subject matter. Her highly engaging style blows the dust off history and renders events of 94 years past in high def color.
In less than six years, we'll mark the 100th anniversary of the-month-that-changed-everything-forever. While the matrix of national defense treaties in place before August 1914 generally take the blame, the real reasons why WW1 happened are much more complex.
Are there eerie parallels to modern times? The answer depends on your sense of rhyme.
Medical disclaimer: anyone with a sleep disorder, or those of you who do not want to spend the next few years wondering what event will inaugurate the 21st century, do not read The Guns of August.
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