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)

outstanding

excellent analysis of missed opportunity, personality issues and assumptions. well narrated. I recommend this to anyone interested in history or in how we repeat the errors of yesterday today

Interesting but shows it's age

The concepts were interesting and I appreciated the lay out trying to follow the progression of the war from day to day in the first month. However, if this book was your only source, you would be led to believe that "a thing" happened in the Balkans and the Germans manically twisted the events into a war. All the while the rest of the world simply watched on in horror as passive, innocent bystanders. There are maybe 3-4 references to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the entire book. The entrance of the Ottoman Empire into the war is simply explained by stating that the Germans forced them into the war, so all of the terrible crimes (Armenian Genocide) and horrific battles (Gallipoli) are all truly the fault of the Germans. All of the personal agency of the nations of Europe are completely disregarded in favor of a narrative about the "Hunnic hordes" of Germany.

While this book is interesting, the era this book was written in must be taken into consideration when being read and any information taken with a grain of salt. If you do read this book don't let it be the only book you read on the first world war.

Definitely A great Listen

I have heard this book and this author referenced in a number of other books on the topic, one being Ian Kerahaw, another John Toland. No surprise. It seems these authors were shaped at least in part by her, as she foretells their ability to blend thorough subject mastery and research into a book that reads like a great story.

I read some protest about the reader, and I am used to hearing Brittish men read the histories. But she has real style and I adjusted to it. Granted, she was disadvantaged in her efforts to mimick the voices of men at war. BUT, Her accent and tone is pure class. It’s like being read to by Joan Collins or The late Princess Margaret!

highly recommended - wonderfully read

great stuff! definitely recommend this and other Barbara T / Wanda M. productions - great accents!

WWI

Although I found it hard to follow sometimes because of the foreign names, this is the definitive guide to the lead up to WWI.

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.