The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Guns of August
Book Review: Solid Literary Gold
Summary: 5 Stars
I first encountered the book when I was in the sixth grade. Most of it was beyond me at the time, but the opening chapter and the its opening paragraphs were a hook that I have never forgotten. The chapter on the Royal Navy's pursuit of the German ships "Goeben" and "Breslau" through the Mediterranean is pretty darn good as well. I write history as part of my job working for the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and I read and reread this book often in the hope that I can absorb some of Barbara Tuchman's style.
There is more to this book, than it simply being an impressively-written book. Tuchman offers her readers a broad and well-developed survey of the opening days of World War I. It is part political, part diplomatic, part military and part naval history. Her argument that pre-existing military plans drove events and prevented diplomacy from defusing the crisis was not as original in 1962 as one might think, but she does what few other historians of this conflict does, she integrates diplomacy with strategic issues and those with operational concerns. There is even a little tactical level stuff that is quite compelling.
Another rare characteristic of this book is that balance she gives to all the major players: British, French, German, and Russian. The Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Turk Empires get less attention, but no one is perfect. To this end, she uses French and German-language source material and used Russian and Turkish sources in translation. Most historians of this war writing in English--be they American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander or British--tend to focus on the experiences of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) the military detachment sent over to France in the early days of the war. Tuchman is an exception. Tuchman sees that the French Army was a major player and devotes considerable attention to the French perspective and does see the rationale for Plan XVII, which the French Army attempted to use to retake lost provinces. Her study is balanced and thorough. If you buy this book, you won't be disappointed.
Book Review: Start with a different book on WWI and work up to this one
Summary: 3 Stars
My professor adores this book and had me read it to understand WWI. I think for someone who is just starting to understand this period, it is ABSOLUTELY not the first book you should read. There are just too many names and places covered rather quickly in this short novel. For the slower of the bunch (i.e. me), you might be able to get what, and how, but not the why and deeper intrigue that war time stories often have.
However, if you are already an expert on the topic, I suspect you'll absolutely love this piece (as my professor does). I just need to cover the basics first.
Book Review: Strong anti-German bias
Summary: 1 Stars
This book has excellent military analysis and I can see why it has many admirers. However, I purchased it in order to learn more about the origins of World War I and was profoundly disappointed. The analysis is quite limited and dominated by a heavy anti-German bias. Of course all works of history will show the author's bias to some degree, but parts of this book read like a melodrama, with Germany as the villain and Belgium as the hero.
Studying the start of World War I gives us an opportunity to learn better ways of preventing future catastrophic wars. When the analysis of German war aims relies on "the hatred of a barbaric culture against anything civilized," that opportunity is lost.
Book Review: Superb survey of WWI
Summary: 5 Stars
I have always wanted to read Ms. Tuchman when it came to this Pulitzer Prize winning work about the first month of WW1 and some interesting events prior. By far this is a fantastic work and anyone who wants a different take on WW1 that is not rundown with a Phd historian or over saturated work with thousands of pages will enjoy this work. My only issue was my decision to buy the mass market edition, although smaller and easier to take with you, the maps in this edition are much harder to decipher. In addition, some of the phrases Ms. Tuchman uses in her quotations from the many leaders and military personnel that are introduced to us in this work are not translated into English and she does not always provide the translation in parenthesis. Otherwise add this book to your history bookshelf because it is on mine.Book Review: Superlative Writing Talent Sabotaged By Inferior Editing
Summary: 1 Stars
The Guns of August [1914], Barbara Tuchman; The Macmillan Company (1962)
"The essence of good history is well-directed research that knows what to do & [what to] leave out, & also [written] extraordinarily well, & it involves people in their books."
An unidentified historian, paying a compliment to historian Martin Gilbert, at a Washington D.C. symposium on Oct. 16th, 2005 (on CPAN3, 01/27/08).
By this articulate standard, GOA was initially regarded as amazing good. Initially, its length - 440 pages - did not seem unreasonable.
But on pages 216-219 (hardcover edition), the text collapsed into an astonishing sinkhole of multiple editing failures, the greatest of which was the violation of the indispensable advice above - "what to leave out."
This dismaying trend continued until I eventually staggered to page 309, the conclusion of the Battle of Tannenberg.
By then, instead of being able to simply read, I was constantly forced to edit what I was reading (inserting critical missing commas that must follow introductory phrases at the start of complex sentences, marking up redundancies, etc.).
The literary triage system alarm sounded; there are other promising books that have arrived in the mail. GOA went back on the bookshelf, with its seven final chapters left unread.
Other notes:
---When Belgium was invaded by the Germans in 1914, "on August 18 [,] von Kluck's leading troops reached the [River] Gette..." Had a notable battle of WWI been fought at that location, the post-war speech honoring the fallen soldiers would have been known as the "Gette's Burg Address."
---Can books be separated at birth?
With the example that follows - even though the chronology instantly invalidates the premise - the inclination is still to say yes, it is possible.
Tuchman's brilliant writing style, abundant talent & critical faults - made evident in 1962 - are, in an astonishing & innocent coincidence, identical to those of Margaret Leech Pulitzer, whose acclaimed Reveille In Washington was published in 1940.
---But a history published in the same year as GOA also deserves mention: Cornelia Otis Skinner's superb Elegant Wits & Grand Horizontals.
If you managed to finish Guns of August (perhaps with the assistance of a month-long DWI jail term, which frees up all sorts of time for catching up on your recreational reading), make "Elegant Wits" your next book.
Discover what the French - primarily those residing in Paris - had been up to in the comparatively docile 1890s.
This time, you'll be reading the work of an equally creative author who knows the inestimable value of getting to the point.