Mass Market Paperback, 640 pages
English language
Published Aug. 3, 2004 by Presidio Press.
Published to immediate acclaim in 1962 and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1963, The Guns of August is the classic account of the cataclysmic outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the 30 days of battle that followed. This opening clash determined the future course of the war and shaped the history of our century. Its tense drama continues to enthrall readers of Barbara W. Tuchman's magnificent best-selling work, now in 25th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author. In the summer of 1914, Europe with a heap of swords piled as delicately as jackstraws, and not one could be drawn out without upsetting the others. Still, statesmen, field marshals, admirals, kings, and patriots believed what they wanted to believe -- or what they feared not to believe -- and waited in profound ignorance for victory to reveal itself within a matter of weeks. Instead, …
Published to immediate acclaim in 1962 and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1963, The Guns of August is the classic account of the cataclysmic outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the 30 days of battle that followed. This opening clash determined the future course of the war and shaped the history of our century. Its tense drama continues to enthrall readers of Barbara W. Tuchman's magnificent best-selling work, now in 25th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author. In the summer of 1914, Europe with a heap of swords piled as delicately as jackstraws, and not one could be drawn out without upsetting the others. Still, statesmen, field marshals, admirals, kings, and patriots believed what they wanted to believe -- or what they feared not to believe -- and waited in profound ignorance for victory to reveal itself within a matter of weeks. Instead, the holocaust of August was the prelude to 4 bitter years of deadlocked war that cost a generation of European lives. The German, French, English, and Russian General Staffs had had their plans for war completed as early as 10 years before hostilities began. Germany intended to invade France; England had committed her army to cooperation with the French Army. France, bolstered by her alliance with Russia and her "entente" with Britain, designed her strategy in terms solely of the offensive and the attaque brusqueée. Russia planned a pincer invasion of East Prussia while the main German armies were involved in the West. None of these plans allowed for the contingencies of the others, or recognized their own intrinsic errors. Yet for perhaps five years before the war began, each General Staff knew what the others would do; all that was planned. The bloody catalogue of the battles of August 1914 includes the almost mythic names of Liège, Tannenberg, Mons, the Battle of the Frontiers, and Charleroi. And of men like Joffre, indomitably rebuilding his shattered French armies; Samsonov dying a suicide after the annihilation of the Russian 2nd Army; von Kluck stubbornly committing his fatal mistake; Admiral Souchon choosing his desperate and fateful course for Constantinople. Through her unforgettable portraits of these characters and many others, Mrs. Tuchman has made her book doubly exciting -- revealing the human reasons for the disasters of war. - Jacket flap.
In this landmark, Pulitzer Prize-winning 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. - Random House.
I really enjoyed this book. The content is solid history, but I will say this, Tuchman makes no bones about her opinions regarding the human costs of this conflict, and the men who caused that price to be payed.
All in all, I feel that this iconic work is iconic for good reason, and should be a part of the library of anyone who has interest in the Great War.
I had known nothing about the first month of the first World War, and notwithstanding my confusion with German generals with French-sounding names, French generals with English- and German-sounding names, and English generals with French-sounding names, this was a remarkably clear description of the flurry of warfare that kicked off this war, all of which was a prelude to the trench warfare that I ascribed to the entirety of it.
It's the anti-Killer Angels. While the fictionalized account of the civil war endowed each character with a sort of super-sympathy (failures brought about by 'caring to deeply', etc.), all of the generals in Tuchman's non-fiction account of WW1 are clouded with fear, doubt, ego, caprice, and malice. The amount of research is incredible, but the read is often dry. I frequently caught my mind wandering and, after a while, I just let it.
I learned a bit more about battles, maneuvers, maps, and bureaucracies than I did about causes and implications, which would have been preferable. And was left feeling just sad. That was a whole lot of killing.
April 2005
Only Bill managed to finish it, but everyone enjoyed it, or rather, thought it a good book. It was stuffed full of facts, and too many people to keep track of, but she did a good job of sketching out the essence of the combatants. It played like a Greek tragedy, with poor decisions on all sides leading to calamity. Conversation inevitably turned to those in power, then and now, only seeing what they wanted to see, and not learning from past history.
August 2014
Re-reading for the centennial.
