The Guns of August

by Barbara W. Tuchman

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762 ratings, 4.36 average rating, 138 reviews (more data...)

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5		47%
4		36%
3		11%
2		3%
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published

August 3rd 2004 (first published 1962) by Presidio Press

binding

Mass Market Paperback, 640 pages

setting

Unknown

literary awards

Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (1963)

isbn

0345476093 (isbn13: 9780345476098)

description

"More dramtatic than fiction...THE GUNS OF AUGUST is a magnificent narrative--beautifully organized, elegantly phrased, skillfully paced and sust...more

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John rated it:

09/26/08

Barbara Tuchman did not have a PHD, “It’s what saved me, I think” she said, believing that academic life can stultify imagination, stifle enthusiasm and deaden prose style. After all, Herodotus, Thucydides, Gibbon, Mac Cauley and Parkman did not have PhD’s.” Her dealings with the press and critics were cautious and in their reviews of this book described her as a fifty-year-old housewife, a mother of three daughters and the spouse of a prominent New York physician. More succinctly, how...more Barbara Tuchman did not have a PHD, “It’s what saved me, I think” she said, believing that academic life can stultify imagination, stifle enthusiasm and deaden prose style. After all, Herodotus, Thucydides, Gibbon, Mac Cauley and Parkman did not have PhD’s.” Her dealings with the press and critics were cautious and in their reviews of this book described her as a fifty-year-old housewife, a mother of three daughters and the spouse of a prominent New York physician. More succinctly, how could she have written this book? Well, she did and won the Pulitzer Prize along the way plus it was an instant and overwhelming success. Huh! Tells us something about the press doesn’t it?

This is a magnificent Pulitzer Prize Winning Classic (She has won two) that in the first several chapters successfully portrays the fascinating diplomatic history leading to WW I. The remaining chapters are a thorough and detailed account of troop movements, battles and leaders that cover not the entire war but only the first month of the war. Tuchman makes several references to previous national conflagrations and various earlier attempts to prevent German hegemony on the continent and it made me wonder; can we ever proceed differently and avoid these continuous wars? As fortune would have it though, “The War to end all wars” or “The Great War” was shortly and dutifully followed by a bigger war, WW II. An interesting side note here was that it took Mrs. Tuchman a full day, eight hours to compose the first paragraph of this book. That certainly gives solace to other thoughtful and slow writers.

I was taken aback and learned of the inaction and reserve of the British Army at this extremely critical time, which by the way continued long into the conflict, because I had observed “The Last Post” at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, (pronounced eepers) Belgium in 1993. The city of Ypres wished to express their gratitude to the British Commonwealth soldiers who died for Belgium freedom and hence conduct “The Last Post” – a solemn bugle call similar to our “Taps” – every day at 8 pm at the Menin Gate. This observance has gone on continuously since 1928 except during the Nazi occupation in WW II. So this initial British reticence to engage, bordering on incompetence and cowardice when those around them were in full fight, was thankfully in strong contrast to how they later performed as evidenced by the Menin Gate Memorial.

Admittedly, I did find some of the detail of the troop movements etc a little overdone but it would be perfect for a student of such maneuvers. Overall, this was a wonderful book and one that had too long been ensconced on the dusty shelf of my brain. After all, it was first published when John Glenn was still trying to be the first American to orbit the globe and accordingly; I had then marked it as one to read.

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Gail rated it:

08/28/08

bookshelves: 2008, ww-i

Read in August, 2008

I don't like technical books about military maneuvers--all that blather about Colonel Blimp, General von Bomb-them-all, and Prince Icantmakeupmymind, and the 5th Army Group attacks the XVI Corps on the right salient---yawn...
Welcome to a book that makes all this nearly understandable.

Tuchman gives a great picture of the men who made the fatal errors of judgement which led to the four years of hell known as WW I and then resulted in, twenty years later, the even worse agony kno...more

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Gene rated it:

01/02/08

Read in January, 2002

recommends it for: Everyone

Written by consummate historian Barbara Tuchman in 1962, the Guns of August is, without exaggeration, one of the most significant works of history ever written. It focuses entirely on the run up to mankind’s greatest disaster, the First World War, and describes in elegant, often humorous, and always painstaking detail how exactly Europe, at the height of its power at the turn of the century, slid so quickly into a debacle that would fundamentally define its history for the next century.
...more Written by consummate historian Barbara Tuchman in 1962, the Guns of August is, without exaggeration, one of the most significant works of history ever written. It focuses entirely on the run up to mankind’s greatest disaster, the First World War, and describes in elegant, often humorous, and always painstaking detail how exactly Europe, at the height of its power at the turn of the century, slid so quickly into a debacle that would fundamentally define its history for the next century.

While the Guns of August is most certainly a history, it reads like a novel. Tuchman is as astonishing a writer as she is a scholar, and it is easy to forget that the cast of characters she paints on the verge of the world’s first great calamity, some foolish, some malicious, few noble, and most simply naïve, are not some fanciful creation but were all too real in 1914. The book won the Pulitzer Prize on its publication and impressed everyone from academics to book critics to president Kennedy himself, who was so affected by Tuchman’s conclusions that he ordered his entire staff to read it as a cautionary tale of what can happen when plans and contingencies become to rigid, and thinking becomes fatalistic. Kennedy’s actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which occurred in October of the same year the book was published, his refusal to be shoehorned in by military regulations and diplomatic protocols, show that he took the book’s lessons to heart. It sounds melodramatic, but in this capacity, you could say that The Guns of August saved the world.

Okay, enough of all that. Obviously I love this book, and I think highly of it. Tuchman’s style is fast paced yet detailed, and she is constantly witty and so dryly sardonic you probably want to keep a glass of water handy to keep from dehydrating. Even if you aren’t a fan of history, I think you’ll find Tuchman’s use of language alone reward enough to keep going.

[I actually ran a book club on this awhile ago, and typed up some additional info for readers on a time budget. Details below.]

Chapters 1-5 - Details the world situation at the turn of the century, introduces all the main characters, and details just how Europe became a powder keg by 1914. Basically the most important part of the book.

Chapters 6-9 - How exactly the planning, assumptions, attitudes, and "Terrible Ifs," in Churchill's words, all sloshed together to spiral events out of control.

Chapter 10 - On the brink of war in the Mediterranean. German and British ships play cat and mouse as they wait for their countries' official declarations. An excellent example of how restricted thinking on the part of the Allies had tremendous consequences early in the war.

Chapter 13 - At least read the first couple pages of this. The account of the first initial battles of the Frontiers is classic and Tuchman's style really comes to the fore here.

Chapters 15-16 - while Ch. 5 talked about assumptions and fears re: Russia, these chapters reveal what actually happened on the Eastern Front. We have so many Russophiles it would be a shame to skip these chapters (though you probably won't like how it turns out...), which have in a general sense some pretty epic storytelling anyway.

Chapter 17 - Breaking from the narrative, this details German attitudes about the rules of war and how this translated into the horrors committed behind the lines in the initial days of WWI. Probably don't want to read this if you're having a really good day. Nevertheless, an eye-opening look at how cultural differences can have grave consequences in extreme situations.

Chapter 22 - How France finally finds her nerve and takes advantage of Germany's great blunder. The last half especially is absolutely epic. If you're not familiar with the chronology of WWI, though, I'd HIGHLY recommend going through all previous chapters or this might loose some Oomph, so to say....less

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Charissa rated it:

01/22/08

bookshelves: all-time-faves, history

Read in January, 2005

recommended to Charissa by: my ex-husband
recommends it for: peaceniks, warmongers, history buffs, and everyone in between

This was the first non-fiction history book that read so much like a good novel that I screamed through it almost without pausing for breath. I knew bits and pieces about World War I before this... but the persistent idiocy of so many involved simply held me riveted to the pages. One of my favorite bits is how the French kept insisting on wearing their red uniforms as they charged through field and forest toward machine gun fire. They just couldn't wrap their heads around the idea that "...more

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Brandon rated it:

01/15/08

Read in January, 2007

Only on here to prove to my as-yet-nonexistent Goodreads friends that I read non-fiction. But it really is a great book. Focuses on the leadup and first month of World War I, establishing the trench warfare deadlock that stretched out over the following years. Dense, but readable, with that gnawing build that good historical nonfiction books can give you (which I assume, having read only one). You know what's coming, but every new development still makes you feel like letting loose a 90-year...more

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David rated it:

11/22/08

Read in June, 2008

I've read some books on WW II recently, and realized I don't know much about WW I - so decided to remedy that with this Pulitzer Prize winner, considered by many to be one of the best histories ever written. It's a broad and comprehensive treatment of the month preceding the start of the conflict, and the first month of the war itself. Listening to the audiobook made everything seem a bit sterile and unimaginative and complicated at first, but it picked up as I got more into it. I think this is ...more

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Tyler rated it:

07/24/08

Read in July, 2007

recommended to Tyler by: Author's Reputation
recommends it for: Guys; War Buffs

This history is well written, and it's thesis is compelling: the irreducible significance of a single month, August, 1914, in human history.

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Elaine rated it:

10/20/08

Read in October, 2008

recommends it for: all friends

A justly classic history book. Although it is not novelized, thank God, it is written with the flow, wit,phrasing, and rhythms of the best novels. Yes, she's opinionated and some historians will disagree with her picture of the Germans as the major aggressors in World War I, but I studied that era in graduate school, and have always been interested in it as that war shaped both the Middle East and Europe as well as caused World War II, which finished the reshaping of the world. In my previous s...more

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Cera rated it:

11/15/08

Read in November, 2008

recommends it for: Rachel (if she hasn't already read it!)

I didn't mean to finish this on Armstice Day, but I'm glad it worked out this way.

What can I say about this book that hasn't been said? It really is excellent, a sweeping look at Europe in the immediate lead-up to World War I, and then the decisions made during the first month of the war that led (in Tuchman's analysis) to the long, long slog ahead. There are places where it bogs down in names of armies and descriptions of movements (although I'm sure a military history buff would ...more

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Jackie rated it:

08/06/08

Barbara Tuchman is one of the woman historians who has received the recognition her profession usually reserves for men. While this extremely detailed book of the first 30 days of World War I at times gets bogged down in the minute details of battles, it also presents an amazing perspective on the machinations of those in charge of the armies of the countries involved and how the terrible carnage of the Great War could perhaps have been averted. The book actually begins with the events immedia...more

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Laurie rated it:

11/25/08

bookshelves: non-fiction, read-in-2008

Read in July, 2008

recommended to Laurie by: I remember my parents had it years ago
recommends it for: anyone interested in war history

Tuchman does a fabulous job on the research for this book about the beginnings of World War I. She relays what she learned in an easy to read fashion. it goes along like a novel (a novel with a lot of detail). It is amazing how the leaders involved started this war with such personal motives and yet killed millions of people.

I went to Belgium and Flanders Fields in September. We visited cemeteries and museums. I find it amazing that the War to End All Wars is now near to being forgo...more

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Gigi rated it:

11/13/08

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in November, 2008

If you like to read about the details of war this is the book for you. It would be 5 stars. I am giving it 4 stars based on the genre it is in; 3 stars for enjoyability (is that even a word?) of reading .

It recounts the events leading up to WWI through the first month of fighting. The first half of the book moved slowly as different leaders and countries along with their historic background are introduced and the build up to war is explained.

The second half of the book i...more

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Phil rated it:

08/20/07

bookshelves: non-fiction

Read in December, 2006

This is an extremely well-written book. The descriptions of the characters and events make you feel like you're really there meeting with the statesmen of Europe as they kick-off the bloodiest century known to man... It not only provides insight and understanding to how this complicated war started, but it's actually an entertaining read if you're into this subject.

She doesn't get too heavily into the actual fighting of the war, so don't bother reading it if you want an action packe...more

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Aaron rated it:

09/09/08

bookshelves: history

Read in July, 2008

I know this book is a classic WWI history, but I wasn't thrilled with it. First, Tuchman clearly has an anti-German bias, which, while understandable (given that she wrote it shortly after WWII), is inexcusable in a history book. She also makes no effort to explain the situation in the Balkans which is curious since it was the treaties with the Balkans that provided the trigger for the whole event (I think she briefly mentions the assassination of the Archduke, but no real attention is given)....more

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Brad rated it:

(review of isbn 0026203103)

06/03/08

Read in June, 2008

I picked this book as an attempt to mitigate my less-than-stellar understanding of WWI. In that regard, it was a useful read that did not disappoint. Knowing beforehand that WWI was instigated by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, this book effectively illustrates that the roots of the awful war went far deeper. Limiting its focus to just the first month of the war, August 1914, I was further shocked by the carnage and tragedy: from Russian casualties at Tannenberg to the German atro...more

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Erik rated it:

07/10/07

Read in October, 2007

I wanted to read this because I heard it was about a bunch of ridiculous aristocrats making hilariously bad decisions. I felt very self-conscious buying it though. I found it in the military history section, requiring me to navigate a bunch of mustachioed white-haired men checking out glossy picture books about WWII tanks and Helicopters from 'Nam. I had concocted a story in case one of them questioned me. "The book is for my father," I would say, "It is his birthday and he lo...more

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Bruce rated it:

01/01/09

May be the best book ever written about the start of the First World War. Should be required reading for anyone possessing the power to commit troops.

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JoLee rated it:

11/07/08

bookshelves: 2008, bookclub

Read in November, 2008

Barbara Tuchman's book discusses the very beginning of World War I. In fact, after she lays out all the pre-war plans she only discusses the first month of the war. At times I found Tuchman's book to be too detailed, but it was fascinating to see step by step how the world unraveled. When I took "World War I and Modernism" I got this impression most of the leaders of the war where idiots, even though we didn't really focus specifically on military history. Well, this book really co...more

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Minke rated it:

02/29/08

Read in February, 2008

I thought it would be good to know more about how and why WWI got started. It was such a huge turning point in human history. And it will continue to have lessons for all future generations, no doubt. But I just couldn't get into this book no matter how much I tried. It gives so much of its attention to just the inbred royalty who started the mess, and then to the aristocratic generals who ran the show, that the devastation of the war on the common people seems to get ignored here.

At...more

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Juliusnajab rated it:

11/20/08

This is an incredibly clear and beautifully written description of the tactics and politics surrounding the first world war.

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The Blue Max, Johnny Got His Gun, The Guns of August are all books that deal with characters or situations arising from which war?
a. The Crimean War
b. World War One
c. World War Two
d. The Korean War
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"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." More quotes...

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The Guns of August

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