The Guns of August

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)

Wonderful

Occasionally I come across a book that is so good that I don't know if I should keep listening or turn it off for fear of finishing too quickly. This book is one of those.

I think that Nadia May, who narrates this and other Barbara Tuchman books, does a wonderful job. Descriptions and events are clear and largely riveting. I have only 2 complaints. One is that not all of the French is translated into English and the other is that there are no maps. I had to get my John Keegan book on the First World War and look at the maps to understand exactly what was happening. However the first complaint is problably a lack in the original printed form of the book and the second is a drawback of narrated books in general. One would hope that given the new visual capabilities of todays devices the producers would find some way to include maps.

I gave this book 5 stars and think it is worth every one. In my view it is better than either of the other of her books (The Proud Tower and The Distant Mirror) that I have listended to. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the events leading up to the First World War.

62 of 65 people found this review helpful

A Microscopic View

I agree with other reviewers that this is a difficult book to follow in the audio version. There are so many players, so much "he said-she said" and a definite need for a map to refer to constantly. I too would have liked to have been able to flip back several pages to refresh my mind many times during the reading. The narration was good overall. The detail of the research was intense. The book was overwhelming in spots.

That said, I love blow by blow accounts of history and that was exactly what this hairsplitter of a book was all about. What's more--my beloved British grandfather fought in the trenches and survived mustard gassing and the war. I listened because I wanted to understand his experience better. Heart pounding and terrifying. A must for history lovers--but maybe the print version or a kindle/audible link would be best so you can flip back and forth. Plus find a good map--your going to need it!

50 of 53 people found this review helpful

A Great Book-One Of My Alltime Favorite Books

I first read this book years ago when I was teenager and found it be so fascinating and well written that it stimulated my interest in history (especially World War One) which I have maintained to this day. Although she went on to write several other excellent books , I believe that this was Barbara Tuchman's best book. This audiobook has reinforced my opinion. By listening to the audiobook, one really acquires a great understanding of just how August 1914 transformed the world. Up until that point, the old order (monarchs and aristocracy) held strong in Europe and Europe controlled the world. After 1914, things would never be the same. Although the war lasted until 1918, by the time it ended, nothing was left of the old order and it was really the personalities of the new order (Lloyd George, Clemenceau and Wilson) who brought about the peace. What makes the book great is the manner in which the author takes the historical figures of that time period (such as the Kaiser, Foch, Joffre, Churchill, French, Kitchner, Von Moltke, Poincare) and paints a very human portrait of all of them through short biography of their pre 1914 lives and how these pre war events shaped the decisions that they made during the first month of the war. The narration is quite good as the narrator does her best to put foreign accents on all of the French and German personalities (I actually think it might have worked better if a man had narrated the book- namely because all of the main characters were men-but Ms. May does a very good job). I also believe that listeners will enjoy the chapter that chronicles the flight of the German cruiser Goeben during the first month of the war. I would strongly recommend this audiobook to anyone who is interested in history and to anyone who has never been interested in the subject, because they found history to be boring when they studied it in school. It is very well done- a good recording

55 of 59 people found this review helpful

Narrator very good

I enjoy Barbara Tuckman books and, for some reason put off reading this one. I decided to try the audiobook. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I thought the narrator was very good. She did the best possible job in my opinion. I do have to say however that I think this type of book with so many historical characters and events is better read than listened to.

26 of 28 people found this review helpful

If Only All History Could Be Done Like This

You already know the outcome of the war, or you should unless you went to a public school in the US. The personalities and decisions made in the course of one month still affect us today. Having this come alive in this wonderful story gives everyone the opportunity to understand what kind of impact one person can have on the whole of world history.

We are treated to some of the most compelling history, not written for idiots but for thinking adults. Barbara Tuchman is certainly on her game, and this is a must hear for everyone.

The production is wonderful, the energy of the narration and the presentation in total make this a wonderful addition to your audiobook library.

34 of 38 people found this review helpful

The definitive work

If you're a student of WWI you already know that this is the definitive work. There is no University History or Political Science Course that does not start with the opening paragraphs of Guns of August.

If you are NOT a student of the era and wish an introduction there is no better.

An enduring work that is of interest to both the scholar and novice.

32 of 36 people found this review helpful

Guns of August is Magnificent

Tuchman's history of the people and circumstances leading to WWI, and the first month of that war, is a vibrant and compelling story that reads like a great novel. I'm always looking for history books that clearly describe important events in world history, and this one is now at the top of my list!

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

One of the Greatest history Books ever

If you want an exellent book about the political and military situation at the start the first world war, then there is no better opition. Even if you don't think you are interested in the first world war i guarantee you will enjoy this book and it will make you interested in the war. After reading it you will want to know more and more about the conflict. I personally had focused on WWII as my main focus, but this book was recommended to me and after reading it (i read it before i bought the audio book). I will probably read this book a half dozen time before in my life because there are unexplainable thing about the time period and and the way it is described in this book that makes me never want to forget it. The author maybe a little "baised" as other have said but this "baise" was devolped from a close studying of the facts. She doesn't just tell you what happened and what the generals decided, but rather throws her own well informed opinion into the matter as well. Not only does this help to give the reader/listener perspective on the matter, but it makes the story interesting and allows the reader figure out easily who is a genious and who is a fool.

21 of 24 people found this review helpful

Everybody knew, and everybody was wrong.

As the world threw themselves into World War I, everybody was convinced that they could win the war in six weeks, or perhaps as much as six months. Everybody was certain that their own plans would be the one that won the day, and everybody was wrong.

Listen along as you see the end of the old world, the Victorian age of mankind, and are brought lurching into the modern twentieth century. Exceptional detail and insight into the events that literally reshaped the world for the rest of the century.

21 of 24 people found this review helpful

Just Amazing

Any additional comments?

I went into this expecting a story about WWI what a got was a history of WWI, at least the beginning. What is amazing is that 99% of this info is not in the school history text books I studied. They seem to gloss over everything, make make is sound like nothing is caused by anything and it's a mysterious.

Tuchman really knows how to bring history to life and make it interesting.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A fine and interesting book

Barbara Tuchman won a Pulitzer Prize for this book and it is easy to understand why. She deals with a massively important turning point in history and writes in such an uncluttered and interesting style, and strikes a nicely judged balance between the historical narrative and comment. But you do need to concentrate to keep a grip of the huge cast of characters and the foreign names!

Superbly well narrated.

The only problem with listening to audio history books with a military them is that unless your grasp of of the geography is very good, you occasionly need to resort to a map to keep track of what's going on. But this does not detract from the enjoyment of the book.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Completely gripping

The reviews for this book tempted me to get it despite a feeling that there surely couldn't be anything new to say about the first world war. However; it grips from the start to create a clear picture of what was driving the seemingly non-sensical start of world war one and how the first few months of the war unfolded. If all of that sounds a bit dry there are a sequence of gloriously bonkers characters amongst the ranks of Europe's nobility and military class which add fascinating human colour to the epic historical sweep

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Not a good choice for an audio version

This is a book of highly detailed scholarship that lays out all the factors and players that led to the start of the First World War. However, I found it too densely packed with facts, lists and characters to work well as an audio-book.

This audio version is an anniversary edition 25 years after the first publication and opens with a self-congratulatory introduction by the author who also felt no changes were necessary, which I found ironic as the first sentence of the book refers to Edward the Seventh as the King of England. Time and time again she refers to England and the English when it should have been Britain/United Kingdom and British. Particularly ironic, for example, when in one instance the Gordon Highlander Regiment is referred to within a few sentences. I acknowledge that many foreigners refer to the England when meaning the UK but an historian should know better.

I enjoy history books but gave up on this one after a few hours. I have been listening to a series of war novels recently and found part one of Ken Follett's Century Trilogy "Fall of Giants" a moving account of World War One that was also informative about the factors that led to the start of that war but in a more digestible form.

11 of 13 people found this review helpful

Very Interesting

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get lost in the middle with all the names, but I found it an interesting book and enjoyed ze accents.

The Battles Between Empires and Behind the Scenes

Although there are chapters which cover events on the Eastern Front and the seas, the main focus of “The Guns of August” is the Western Front. The book firstly outlines the military thinking before the Great War began, and then explains the impact of the Great War on the military strategies of France and Germany.

Barbara W. Tuchman brings to life the leading political and military figures, as she examines the conflicts behind the scenes between allies, and between actors of the same country.

So “The Guns of August” isn’t just a book about the war between empires; it is a book about disagreements between allies, and between generals of the same country. It is France versus Belgium and Britain. It is John French versus Lord Kitchener.

The final chapters build up to the Battle of the Marne, which rather than being covered in detail, is summarised as part of the afterword. The ending is therefore premature.

The foreign accents may make it slightly more difficult to understand the quotes. Listen long enough, and you can hear the narrator sing.

A comprehensive and compelling introduction to WW1

This book considers the events of 1914 which led the various fractions within Europe to believe they had no alternative to war. In addition ‘The Guns of August’ continues past the causes of the war and continues to assess the various initial battles which had commenced in the West and the East and the various winners and losers.

I found this book to be very easy to read and comprehend, some history books can be very dry and analytical. However within ‘The Guns of August” I found myself becoming quickly caught up in all the action and events. The writer uses a lot of detail about the events and the various protagonists which paints a vivid picture of their various appearances and characteristics. I found this extra details enabled me to be able to picture the events taking place over a hundred years ago and to feel present within the moment.

A must read for anyone with an interest in history and World War One.

Not for me

I'm sure this is a book that I should have read hard-copy, rather than tried to listen to. I found it difficult to concentrate and remember what was happening, and the narration didn't help me. Shame, as I was very interested to hear the tales and explanations about this period.

World War I: The First Month

What did you like most about The Guns of August?

Its just a great history book. In the centenary year of the start of the war I've decided to listen/read a few books about the war. I don't think I could have chosen a better place to start. Tuchman brings the war to life with her well researched book. bringing the characters of Moltke, Joffre and French to life. It deals with the events of the first month of WWI with the countries affected by the Schlieffen Plan.

What did you like best about this story?

It was an easy listen! There are a lot of people and events to memorise, but Tuchman does it so well. I got a little confused with the Russian names involved in the Battle of Tannenburg in East Prussia but this was only one chapter. The battle scenes and events were described really well and you got to feel the exhaustion and confusion of the soldier as well as the plans, frustrations and organistion the generals had to do.

Have you listened to any of Nadia May’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Nadia May's performance was superb. Considering it was a history of a war and all the voices baring a handful were male, she bought the people to life. Definitely someone I'd listen to again.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

You couldn't help but feel sorry for the brave Belgium people. The first European people to get a taste of total war.

Any additional comments?

A great listen. It does help if you know a little of the causes of WWI as the book doesn't deal very much with the Balkans, or the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Brilliant

loved this. great characterisations. beautifully read with the right amount of panache and gravity as required

A Classic Account

Any additional comments?

Tuchman's book has been around for a while, but it remains a very good account of the first month of the war. Some understanding of the basic geography of Europe is helpful to understand the movement of armies across territory, but listeners can always check a map between chapters.