The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Guns of August
Book Review: A great book for The Great War
Summary: 5 Stars
I knew surprisingly little about The Great War, but knew that I wanted to read about it. Tuchman's account is arguably one of the more well known histories of the war so it was natural to start with hers. What I quickly realized is that this book is really only about the first month of the war, August, and some of September. At first you wonder how much could have possibly happened in such a short period of time to justify focusing a whole book on it. Tuchman did wonderfully in showing just how important the month of August was in how it effected the outcome of the war.
The Great War is most certainly the last war of its kind. Meaning that it was a traditional power struggle of neighboring kingdoms and empires that pitted one another against each other. By contrast WWII was fought more in regards to one mans ideology, not too mention that technology changed how the war was fought. With The Great War we see Germany and Austria against France and Russia based off of alliances and treaties. Just as Europe was changed in the way it was governed, i.e. so many monarchies being abolished, so too was this the end to how wars were fought.
Tuchman illustrates beautifully the alliances and treatises that went in to the build of to war. We understood why Germany attacked France, why Russia attacked Austria and why England joined forces with Russia and France. Belgium was the ultimate reason why Germany lost, at least in terms of the way the war was fought. As Tuchman explains it, if Germany hadn't invaded Belgium's neutrality (or Luxembourg's for that matter) then England wouldn't have been brought in to the war and their image would not have been so stained, which, by the end of the war, was the reason so many turned against Germany.
Ultimately Tuchman does a fantastic job jumping from Joffre to Moltke, French to von Kluck. We understand why each general, bureaucrat and so on did what they did and the choices they made. Tuchman minutely researched the numerous memoirs, journals and biographies of the men of that war in order to tell such a round and complete tale of the war that shattered Europe as they then knew it. The only downside is that sometimes throughout the history Tuchman would sound like she was listing off too much, but it ultimately came together. I would recommend. Now I can't wait to read about the rest of the war.
4.5 stars.
Book Review: A great start
Summary: 5 Stars
For those of you just beginning to explore the Great War and it's causes this book is the place to start. Tuchman's ability to weave together the all to human story of the mistakes and blunders committed by egotistical, naive, and often downright stupid leaders, still resonates clearly today. This book should be required reading for all politicians and State Department officials.Book Review: A neccessary book for the collector
Summary: 5 Stars
My review title says it all. If you are a serious reader of world war one histories then this book needs to be on your shelf. Occasionally (and just occasionally) the tactical descriptions of various combat encounters get a little dry but the first part of the book dealing with the outbreak of the war is one of the best going. I thoroughly enjoyed it.Book Review: A very well organized page turner, detailed and insightful.
Summary: 5 Stars
A very well organized page turner, detailed and insightful. The book narrates parallel events in different chapters as in modern TV documentaries with vignettes. There is a great richness of detail and suspense is maintained even though we know the outcome of it all. It provides a context for the beginning of the war, shows how once certain preparations and inertia takes place events become almost inevitable. After providing this context the book moves into the narrative of the first month or so of World War I. At the end it provides a hint of the Marne that will reverse the events. Much of the material related to the first month of the war itself and the overall German plan traced back to Von Schlieffen is presented in another masterful book called "The Campaign of the Marne" by Sewell Tyng first published in 1935 and re-published in 2007 by Westholme Publishing. I recommend that you read Mr. Tyng's book if you read the Guns of August. Mr. Tyng's book covers the military aspects in the Western Front covered by the Guns of August and then continues to the Marne and the German retreat. Mr. Tyng and Mrs. Tuchman arrive at different conclusions regarding the contributions of key leaders namely those of General Joffre and Gallieni. Although Mrs. Tuchman's book is more recent and may have benefited of new documents or findings Mr. Tyng's position seems to be less contrived. I could not find any reference to Mr. Tyng's book in Mrs. Tuchman book published about 30 years later. Maybe there is a reference or maybe Mrs. Tuchman did not consider Mr. Tyng's book a primary source. Still anyone who read Mr. Tyng's book would have been profoundly helped in writing Mrs. Tuchman book. Mrs. Tuchman' s book also describes events that did not take place in the Western front, namely events in the Russian front that took place at the same time as well as naval military aspects in the Mediterranean that related to the German navy and to Turkey. Mr. Tyng refers to the events in the Russian front as they affected the German armies in the Western front. In summary, The Guns of August is a great book and now one of my favorite books. I recommend that you follow it with Mr. Tyng's book, which has a different flavor and scope but is masterful.Book Review: AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, STILL ONE OF THE BEST
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read this work upon its publication in 1962. I was very impressed at that time. I recently reread this work...and am still very impressed. I have always been a big Tuchman fan, having enjoyed each and every book written by her, but do feel this is probably one of her best, if not indeed absolutely her best. The Guns of August gives a vivid account of the first month of World War I and event preceding those horrible days. Ms. Tuchman's research is wonderful and she had the writing skill to organize and present to the reader, very complex problems and circumstances in a readable format. One is very tempted to compare those times with current times on some level and this may quite well be true. Then again, the stupidity of humans and the error of humans has pretty well set the stage for most of the wars in history so why should it be any different now? I regress. This is a well written book, easy to understand and certainly will give the reader some food for thought. I recommend it highly.