The Guns of August

This is an extremely impressive work that delves deep into the buildup to World War I and the very first month of the fighting. After re-reading All Quiet on the Western Front, I had a strong desire to read this book in order to gain a better understanding of the war. I have heard The Guns of August being described as one of the absolute best books ever written about WWI. Although I haven't read a vast number of books on this topic to fully testify to that claim, I can definitely say that it was an incredibly interesting and insightful work. I would highly recommend it to all history buffs out there.

I listened to The Guns of August in audio format, and I really enjoyed the narration by Nadia May. However, my one frustration with this book was that Tuchman had to cover so many different countries - the French, Germans, British, Russians, and even the Belgians were all included. At times, Tuchman would be relating a long and detailed story, and by the end, I would find myself confused about which government she had been talking about. This problem probably would have been alleviated had I been reading the print version, where it's much easier to simply flip back a few pages and be reminded about the context. Frequently, I had to hit the rewind button in an attempt to catch up with the narrative.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the first world war, especially the events that led up to it. One of my major takeaways was just how eager Germany was to invade France. They had these elaborate (and perhaps rather unrealistic) plans about how quickly they could win such a war, despite warnings to the contrary. In hindsight, it seems as if the world was almost destined to fight this war, because not even common sense was able to prevent it.

Favorite Quote
\"In Whitehall that evening, Sir Edward Grey, standing with a friend at the window as the street lamps below were being lit, made the remark that has since epitomized the hour: 'The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.'\"

A truly remarkable account of the first month of WWI exists. If history were taught to high school students in the way Barbara Tuchman presents it, perhaps we would not be doomed to repeat it so often.

"The Guns of August" offers a highly readable account of how the Allies nearly lost the war within the first 30 days. This was due to bungling caused by ego, jealousy, misunderstanding, and territorial disputes.

The Germans were not without their own senseless errors. Their mistakes stemmed more from the Teutonic belief in blindly following orders and their insistence on the inferiority of any way other than the German way.

One has to wonder how many global errors of these types are currently being made by world military leaders and what the consequences will be.

I was six years old when this book first came out. I remember it causing quite a stir among my parents' friends as they passed their single copy from couple to couple.

I spoke to my mother about it this weekend, and she said her reaction to it was shock.

She and I both agree that all we were taught about WWI was that Kaiser Wilhelm became too overconfident, some minor prince was shot by a nutcase, and Germany used it as an excuse to invade France. England then magnanimously came to France's rescue. But that's not what really happened.

Do read this book, even if you have to draw the battle plans on graph paper like I did to understand certain parts of it. So much of our 21st-century world makes sense when you understand the beginning of the last century.

A long slog of a book, but well worth it.

The first paragraph was truly amazing. It's no wonder that she spent 8 hours on it -- it really shows! The opening, which is set at the funeral of Edward VII of England, painted a vivid and colorful picture of Europe's royal network, including the Kaiser and their complex and intricate relationships. It's a strange mix of politics and family.

PROS: There is a wealth of new information here for me. The personalities of the officers and their photos are quite interesting. The fact that the war was brewing in Europe long before the assassination in Sarajevo is eye-opening. And learning how this horribly long trench war actually began is both fascinating and disturbing. I'll never forget the brutality in Belgium and beyond, and the lame rationalizations used, such as "their fault for resisting"!!! It's very painful to read.

CONS: The many officer names were rather hard to remember. As the names frequently went back and forth, sometimes even within one paragraph, the subsequent "he" pronouns were often difficult to connect to the right name. In some chapters, the detailed military maneuvers were just too much to process, and I found myself skimming at times.

The maps in this small paperback were hard to read. Perhaps a larger hardback book would have clearer maps. I often went to the computer to look up locations, but usually not, as I stayed glued to my comfy reading spot.

FAVORITE PASSAGE: (Page 442) "...Bridges wished desperately for a band to rouse the two hundred or three hundred dispirited men in the square. 'Why not? There was a toy shop handy that provided my trumpeter and myself with a tin whistle and a drum and we marched round and round the fountain where the men were lying like the dead, playing the British Grenadiers and Tipperary and beating the drum like mad.' The men sat up, began to laugh, then cheer, and then one by one stood up, fell in and 'eventually we moved off slowly into the night to the music of our improvised band, now reinforced by a couple of mouth organs.'"

So, of course, I had to find Tipperary on YouTube and march around, much to the consternation of my teenage daughter.

Dh has completed this.

Due to a significant change in our lifestyles, we no longer engage in the practice of listening to books in the evenings. Instead, we have welcomed a 15-year-old into our home to live with us until a more suitable and permanent home can be located for her. It is possible that we might become that permanent home for her, but at this point, we simply do not know.

As a result of this new situation, this particular book has been put on the back burner for me.

Dh and I are currently listening to this book. It is actually a rather good choice as we enter August. However, considering how slow we typically are when it comes to listening to audio books - usually taking us several months to complete one - it is quite likely that the month of August will have long passed before we manage to finish this one.

Still, we continue to listen and hope to make some progress in the days and weeks ahead.

THE GUNS OF AUGUST is a remarkable work that offers an exquisitely detailed description of the opening days of World War I. It is a masterpiece of writing stylishness, which not only won the Pulitzer Prize but also holds a crucial position in the realm of written military history. In many aspects, it can be considered the essential or fundamental work in this field.

However, as the book progresses, its second half turns into a seemingly endless litany of troop movements, orders, and counter-orders. This might seem overwhelming at times. Nevertheless, it is somewhat alleviated by the author's insightful look into the personalities of the generals on both sides. These generals initially imagined a brief conflict, completely oblivious to the fact that their hubris and mistakes would ultimately lead to a grueling four-year war and result in millions of casualties.

I suspect that this book is more likely to be favored by those who have a deep fascination with the specific details of the war rather than by the casual reader. Although it is magnificently written, featuring wry humor and a somewhat jaundiced eye towards the perpetrators of war, the minutely detailed troop maneuvers might prove to be tiresome for readers who are not already fanatical about such things. In conclusion, THE GUNS OF AUGUST is a complex and engaging work that offers a wealth of information and perspectives on the start of World War I, but its appeal may vary depending on the reader's interests and level of knowledge.

As always, Barbara W. Tuchman delves deeply into the historical subject matter.

This book is about the First World War, exploring its causes, the conduct of it, and the results.

I realize that what I've just written in the preceding sentence might not sound inviting; it seems dry and uninteresting.

However, this book is anything but that.

It is actually exciting in its description of the progress of the war and the various armies.

It is also fascinating to dig into the causes and the intrigue involved.

It seems almost like a thriller.

Ms. Tuchman, a Pulitzer Prize winner, as always, does exhaustive research before tackling a book.

She totally familiarizes herself with the facts and comments, gives a deep analysis of the events, including the how, why, when, and who.

She describes in vivid detail the events and their consequences, shows great insight about the facts, and, perhaps best of all, writes in a manner that makes history as exciting as an adventure story.

For me, it was a page-turner.

We delve into the personalities that brought about the war and their manner of prosecuting it.

We learn, in addition to all the important matters relating to this war, interesting tidbits as well.

For example, the fact that an army on the march can be smelled for some distance since there are so many men together and they haven't had a chance to take a bath or change clothes for some time.

Fascinating reading indeed.

5 stars, because I have a profound love for Tuchman’s writing style. She has an extraordinary ability to sum up historical figures in a brilliant manner. In pithy paragraphs, she encapsulates their strengths, flaws, and quirks, capturing their essence and historical importance with the discerning eye of a novelist.

So much has been written in the last several years to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of WWI. However, Tuchman’s exhaustive work on the outbreak and the first month of fighting not only won the Pulitzer Prize but is still regarded as a classic. She also penned The Proud Tower, which delves into the European powers and the mood of the period leading up to the war, and The Zimmermann Telegram, for which she was awarded a second Pulitzer. I had read Proud Tower many years ago and always intended to read this book. I still need to get to Zimmermann Telegram, the last of her WWI history books. I read this book to fulfill the non-fiction challenge for The Book For All Seasons group here on Goodreads.

I have a passion for well-written history. Although I got a little bogged down in all of the references to the First Army, Second Army, etc., Tuchman truly brings history alive with her accessible, intelligent style and, where appropriate, her dry humor. When studying the incomprehensible waste of life in this conflict caused by stubbornness, incompetence, and the clinging to accepted, albeit outdated, concepts of war and national honor, it is truly a matter of either seeing the gallows humor or crying. I have read other books about the war in the last four years, and although new analysis or scholarship may have emerged, nothing can change the tragedy and waste. It never fails to amaze me.

I highly recommend her work to anyone seeking a lucid, intelligent, and accessible approach to whatever history she chose to tackle. This account of August 1914, the first month of the war, and how it set the tone for the seemingly never-ending slog and slaughter of the next four years, deserves to be read. If only to remind us that when we think, “that could never happen,” or “that would never be allowed,” it can and has happened - twice.

Audible purchase 19 hours Narrated by John Lee (B)

This book offers an in-depth introduction to the first month of World War One. I'm truly glad that I listened to John Keegan's "The First World War" last month, as it provided me with a better overall understanding of the circumstances, the major leaders (both political and military), the battles, and the personal horrors of the war. Barbara Tuchman's work has definitely earned the acclaim it has received. She includes only brief mentions of personal stories from the war, so the reader isn't constantly inundated with the huge sacrifices of life. However, she does vividly describe the slaughter of the Belgian people and the sacking and burning of towns by the Germans. Additionally, she explains the German and French battle plans for a "quick war" that had been formulated long before the actual war began and how those plans ultimately failed. If Germany hadn't been so hell-bent on moving through Belgium, which put up such a heroic stand and thus disrupted Germany's plans, the world today might be a very different place. If you read "Guns of August," it would also be wise to read "The Zimmerman Telegram" afterwards.

The final paragraph is truly worthy of quoting, but you'll have to read it for yourself to fully appreciate its significance.

This book reads more like a captivating novel than a traditional history book. I deeply wish I had read it before my vision failed, as then I could have (1) used my own voice to bring the words to life and (2) been able to easily refer back to previous pages. The options for readers were Wanda McCaddon, who isn't one of my favorite narrators, and John Lee, who I have usually enjoyed but wasn't quite the right fit for this particular book. Nevertheless, I'm glad that I finally got to cross it off my To Read list. Purchased on an Audible sale.