Barbara Wertheim Tuchman

The guns of August

Barbara W. Tuchman

'War pressed against every frontier. Suddenly dismayed, governments struggled and twisted to fend it off. It was no use . . .' Barbara Tuchman's universally acclaimed, Pulitzer prize-winning account of how the first thirty days of battle determined the course of the First World War is to this day revered as the classic account of the conflict's opening. From the precipitous plunge into war and the brutal and bloody battles of August 1914, Tuchman shows how events were propelled by a horrific logic which swept all sides up in its unstoppable momentum. 'Fascinating, splendid, glittering. One of the finest works of history.' New York Times 'Excellent.' Wall Street Journal 'Brilliant, exciting.' Washington Post 'Brilliant . . . grips the mind.' New Yorker 'A brilliant achievement.' Sunday Telegraph

The Classic Bestselling Account of the Outbreak of the First World War

The Guns of August

Jeff Dlouhy

Misha

In the first chapter, the book mentions The Great Illusion (1909), which was very popular in the time of publication. Its main thesis is now a well-known argument against the possibility of war:

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[...] "the economic cost of war was so great that no one could possibly hope to gain by starting a war the consequences of which would be so disastrous."[3] For that reason, a general European war was very unlikely to start, and if it did, it would not last long.
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We know what happened next… 

The author received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1933.

We know what happened next…

This is frightening but sobering; makes me more pessimistic about conflict between great powers in our century. On the other hand, there is another interpretation:

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Historian Niall Ferguson uses the receptiveness to the book of these paragons of the British military and naval establishments as evidence that it was not the pacifist work it superficially seemed to be, but instead a "Liberal imperialist tract directed at German opinion", with the aim of discouraging Germany from continuing its bid to become a great naval power, a program which had begun the fierce, and expensive, naval arms race between the United Kingdom and Germany. The fact that Angell was employed as editor of the Continental Daily Mail by Lord Northcliffe, a press baron whom Ferguson refers to as an "arch-scaremonger", is to Ferguson further evidence of a deeper, non-pacifist purpose to the book.
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Jeni Enjaian

I absolutely loved this book. This one was hands down my favorite out of all the Tuchman books I've read lately. It's amazing that so much happened during such a short period of time. Tuchman wove a compelling narrative that I did not want to end. It also revealed just how little I know about World War I. I'm actually ashamed at my lack of knowledge of this major world event. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has even the faintest interest in history. This book is going on my wishlist to own.

The guns of August

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