The Guns of August

By: Barbara W. Tuchman

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, historian Barbara Tuchman brings to life the people and events that led up to World War I. This was the last gasp of the Gilded Age, of Kings and Kaisers and Czars, of pointed or plumed hats, colored uniforms, and all the pomp and romance that went along with war. How quickly it all changed...and how horrible it became.

Tuchman masterfully portrays this transition from 19th to 20th Century, focusing on the turning point in the year 1914: the month leading up to the war and the first month of the war. With fine attention to detail, she reveals how and why the war started, and why it could have been stopped but wasn't, managing to make the story utterly suspenseful even when we already know the outcome.

©1990 Dr. Lester Tuchman (P)2005 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"More dramatic than fiction...a magnificent narrative - beautifully organized, elegantly phrased, skillfully paced...The product of painstaking and sophisticated research." (Chicago Tribune)

Interesting but Long and Wordy

Tells the story of the lead up and first 45 days of WWI. I thought it was the story of WWI.
Since I am not familiar with the country side towns and geography of France, Germany, Western Russia and Belgium a lot of the narratives made little sense. The book can be tedious and confusing but contains an amazing amount of detail.

absolutely wonderful!!! I listened while I ran on

I listened to the book while ai ran on the treadmill and it kept me going!

Loved it

Very well done book. I enjoyed hearing the details of how the German army planned so meticulously how they would attack France. The best laid plans can fail. Good read. I highly recommend it.

Hard to listen to

The book is detailed but boring in my opinion. For me the narrator is simply hard to listen to. After starting and stopping and starting again, I finally gave up on the book about 1/2 way through. Changed to a new book to give myself a break. While the book detail is great, and I am sure I will one day finish this book, the narrator's voice (female British accented voice that for me sounded a bit too condescending and reminded me of a school teacher) just made it hard for me to listen and follow.

One of the Best Books on the First World War

It is no wonder that Barbara Tuchman won the Pulitzer prize for this excellent book, which clearly describes the factors contributing to the outbreak of the First World War, and charts the early days of the war. It is hard for us to imagine today the toll the Great War took on a whole generation of young men and the absolute futility of the endeavor. The presentation by Nadia May is of such quality and commitment that it is easy to believe that it may actually be Barbara Tuchman herself speaking to us. All in all, a highly recommended, entertaining and very educational presentation.

Amazing

Amazingly detail in that the book resurrects the fallen soldiers, the Spirit and intensity of August 1914. Both my knowledge and my appreciation what I do not know both grew with listening. The Generals, red pants, King Albert, and the vivid battle scenes are indelible. Simply the best WW1 historical narrative!

Hard to get through.

This was really boring. Did not hold my attention at all, even for a total history nerd like myself.

Great Work but Too Long

The writing is solid and this is an important work, but it's far too long for popular history. This is almost academic reading, and I was bored about a third of the way through. If you want the definitive history on the start of World War I, this is it. 3.5 stars.

History is repeating again today

Excellent narrative of the first month of WWI - many similarities being played in the Russia/Ukraine War. No war is good & WWI was an exceptionally brutal one. I will be purchasing the book and referencing maps to better grasp the strategy behind this war.

Good book but terribly tough listen

This is a great detail of the first part of the war. But this an incredibly difficult listen if you really want to understand the what and where. There are so many names, flanks, towns, and fronts, I kept wishing I had a map in front of me and an org chart of commands. Really could have studied maps in detail while listening and enjoyed it much more.