4: The Guns of August
Originally posted by audrey_e at Book 4: The Guns of August
4 THE GUNS OF AUGUST Barbara Tuchman (USA, 1962)
In this military history book, Tuchman focuses on how the belligerents prepared for a war most believed would be short, and the first month of what was to be known as the Great War.
As someone who is fascinated with WWI, I think it's safe to say few military history books are as accessible and yet as detailed as this one. Tuchman manages to capture the atmosphere in which all the wrong decisions were made by generals, and their heartbreaking consequences. Her writing is elegant, even witty, but she's always conscious that she's writing the first act of a tragedy. The details on the generals and their clashing personalities alone make the book worth reading.
My only complaint is that it's a little too easy to sense Tuchman's anti-German feelings.
4.5/5
4 THE GUNS OF AUGUST Barbara Tuchman (USA, 1962)
In this military history book, Tuchman focuses on how the belligerents prepared for a war most believed would be short, and the first month of what was to be known as the Great War.
As someone who is fascinated with WWI, I think it's safe to say few military history books are as accessible and yet as detailed as this one. Tuchman manages to capture the atmosphere in which all the wrong decisions were made by generals, and their heartbreaking consequences. Her writing is elegant, even witty, but she's always conscious that she's writing the first act of a tragedy. The details on the generals and their clashing personalities alone make the book worth reading.
My only complaint is that it's a little too easy to sense Tuchman's anti-German feelings.
4.5/5