Barbara Tuchman provides the best look at the run up to WWI and the crucial beginnings of the war. The road to the war seemed like an unstoppable train. She shows the inflexibility of the German chief of staff Moltke and his determination to adhere to the Schlieffen Plan, shortcircuiting the last minute attempts of diplomacy since it would ruin his timetable. Parallel to this was the French inflexibility to Plan XVII and the unshakable belief that Alsace-Lorraine was the best place to stop the Germans. It was instead based on the sentimental feelings that France needed to take back Alsace-Lorraine from the Germans and how that action would be a great victory of its own. The French military never believed that the Germans would go through Belgium and never believed that Germans would utilize reserve troops extensively. The French military would not do so, so of course, it was unthinkable of the Germans. General Joffre ignored warnings that the Germans were attempting an encirclement until it was too late. The French disdain for the use of advanced weaponry, relying instead on courage, led to the slaughter of French soldiers by the German use of those weapons. When it was recommended that French uniforms should be changed to bland, unobtrusive coloring so they wouldn't stand out on the battlefield, French generals indignantly insisted on keeping "les pantalon rouge" again to the detrement of the front line soldiers. The French military leadership did not give any value to defensive war actions. France must always take offensive tactics. There are so many instances in the book where you want to cry out in frustration at the actions of a few that cost the lives of the many. The war was expected to last only a few weeks (where have I heard that before?) but instead lasted years, destroying countless lives, ruining economies of countries, and toppling governments. It is a timeless account of the overwhelming impact of WWI, a war we don't often talk about today.

The section on Belgian civilians fighting against the Germans and their subsequent reaction, reveals a great deal of the German mindset that was previously unknown to me. While the Germans invaded Belgium, it was their expectation that the population would peacefully yield. When they started to fight back, the Germans were enraged, thinking it was a campaign organized by the Belgium government, not the acts of individual civilians. German citizens would never act on their own like the Belgians, so it must be planned. Acting on the Clausewitz theory that terror would shorten war, the more the Belgians fought back, the more horrific reprisals the Germans unleashed on the population without realizing that it further galvonized the civilains to action. The Germans also did not expect how these actions would turn the world against them.

John Lee provides excellent narration.

The introduction to the book discusses the life of Barbara Tuchman and the influence of the book. JFK held the book in high regard. The Zimmerman Telegram by Tuchman is also an excellent book on WWI. It describes the German attempt to enlist Mexico and Japan in fighting the U.S., should the U.S. decided to enter the war.

I have read another BT book and loved it.However The Guns Of August spent too much time concerned with troop deployment which I felt didn,t add to the "history" of the period.I appreciated the immense amount of research needed though.When she concerned herself with how the war impacted on the population,the character of the people concerned and their impact on each other and on the country then it was very interesting.
I would recommend this book only to people with an interest in the mechanics of war
And a special interest in WW1.

The reader is caught up in the folly, inevitability and tension of this march to war from the first page when the dramatis personae of the conflict to come parade in seeming unity at the funeral of the English king. The emotions are held through to the wonderful Afterword that concludes the book and which captures in a few paragraphs the tragic 4 years that followed these 30 days of August and the aftermath of those 4 years.What a fine achievement.

Their is an old Military axiom that goes something like......No military plan survives the first few minutes of Battle.........Wow !! If you listen to The Guns Of August you just have to say.........You Got That Right.......There is no point in repeating the many positive things and reviews.It's a great meticulously researched book,compelling because it's both true and Tuchman makes you feel like it's happening right now.If there ever was a book deserving of the Pulitzer prize......This is it.
Two observations from among 100's
[1]The casual but efficient systematic German brutality is chilling not because they are evil people but because they are not.They fought the old way.The way Napolean,El Cid,Alfred the Great,Alexander might have fought.
[2]Unfortunately Kaiser Wilhelm was an insecure arrogant King who inherited rather than earned the respect of his people and Generals.Tuchman points out that he is a dinosaur who helped bring about the demise of his way of life.

Great books like this are priceless because in order to find out where you are going you need to know where you've been.

MG

Great history.

Thorough treatment of the subject.

I have not.

Absolutely.

This book is well-recognized for its thorough treatment of history. Despite the incredible detail, it is an easy and riveting listen. I highly recommend the audio version.

A really fascinating view of all the relevant events leading up to the start of the horrors of trench warfare. There are so many people, and the events so complicated, that her ability to make it comprehensible is very impressive.

The book is superb--a classic. There is a reason Barbara Tuchman was a great author of popular (and serious) histories. This is the book that put her on the map.

The entire book is memorable, as it nicely frames the utter insanity and futility of planned wars. It also highlights the senselessness of the underlying political disagreements that caused the war.

As a straight reader, he does a very good job. However, his performance goes off the rails when he affects various foreign accents when reading quotations attributed to the various historical characters in the novel. For example, when quoting Kaiser Wilhelm, he affects a very annoying, and not particularly convincing, German accent. He sounds like Artie Johnson lurking behind a potted palm. When he reads a quotation from a French figure, he affects a French accent, making him sound like someone trying to do an impression of Charles Boyer. It doesn't work and it's distracting to the narrative.

No.

World War I is not my favorite period. It is confusing with the foreign characters but I stuck with it and paid more attention. I like to listen to my books when I am doing mundane chores. I had to do this book during my Dog Walks.

According to Robert K. Massie's excellent foreword, Barbara Tuchman described herself as a writer whose subject was history. Although she was certainly scholarly in her approach, and very well educated, she was not a professional historian. She was an outstanding writer, with the ability to make historical figures come alive on the page. Her work is very well served by John Lee's outstanding narration.

YES

EVEN

THIS REPRESENTS A RETELLING OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ERA IN RECENT HISTORY .... ALL ACTIONS RESOLVED FROM THE PREVIOUS CENTURY AND THE SETUP OF ALL ACTIONS IN THE FOLLOWING
THE ACCENT OF MAN FROM SERF TO INDIDUAL, THE MECHANIZATION OF THE WORLD

A LOT OF PEOPLE TO TRY AND KEEP TRACK OF