The Guns of August
by Barbara Tuchman · first published 1962
46% recommend51% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Gripping, even funny narrative of WWI's opening months that shows how mobilization logistics and leaders' pressures made war hard to stop; suits readers wanting insight into escalation and why generals persist.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Published to immediate acclaim in 1962 and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1963, The Guns of August is the classic account of the cataclysmic outbreak of World War I in 1914 and the 30 days of battle that followed. This opening clash determined the future course of the war and shaped the history of our century. Its tense drama continues to enthrall readers of Barbara W. Tuchman's magnificent best-selling work, now in 25th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author. In the summer of 1914, Europe with a heap of swords piled as delicately as jackstraws, and not one could be drawn ou
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…information density is quite low. He takes a long time to say not much, all the while sounding quite profound. I'd recommend the classic references instead/as well: * The First World War by John Keegan * The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman
on “Why 1866 Set the Stage for Two World Wars” ↗…McCarthy); “The Stand” (Stephen King). > Nonfiction: “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” (Tom Wolfe); “Halsey’s Typhoon” (Tom Clavin); “Band of Brothers” (Stephen Ambrose); “Into the Wild” (Jon Krakauer); “Guns of August” (Barbara Tuchman). about 300 titles (not sure what the proportion of navy specific material, public domain and commercially licensed title are). Note the high price -- $3k/unit. That is typical in…
on “Know your NeRD: What submariners can expect from their new e-readers” ↗This is very tangential, but I just happened to finish the "Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman last night. If any HN military history buffs have not read it yet, do pick it up. Although about the opening of WWI, it provides some great insight into both World Wars.
on “The piece of paper that fooled Hitler” ↗As I recall it, Barbara Tuchman argues/describes in the Excellent "The Guns of August" that once precautionary mobilization had been ordered in one country, due to the nature of the railway system driven technology behind the logistics of the day, war was pretty much inevitable. Nobody…
on “The technology industry is rife with bottlenecks” ↗Many thanks for the recommendation; picked up a copy. Tuchman wrote Guns of August and The Proud Tower about the times immediately before, during and after the start of WWI. I found both outstanding reads and I can only think A Distant Mirror to be worth the time.
on “The expenses of Queen Eleanor of Castile” ↗For those interested in why there was fighting in the Dardanelles, read Guns of August by Barbera Tuchman. It covers the timeline from Serajevo to The Marne. http://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-Guns-of-August-Audiobo...
on “A Soldier Explains What It Was Like in the World War I Trenches (1916)” ↗Folks interested in the first month of WWI should do themselves the favor of reading The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman http://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-Guns-of-August-Audiobo...
on “A Fleet of Taxis Helped France Win World War I” ↗…on a Pandora station seeded on Natalie McMaster. Sometimes I'm doing something where I'm spending a bunch of time waiting on the machine and I will listen to a history audiobook. Recommendations: - Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman - Souls of Black Folk by WEB DuBois - to answer the Question DuBois raises at the end: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond - 1776 by David McCulloch - Alexander Hamilton by…
on “Ask HN: What do you listen to while programming?” ↗…historical topics, I would recommend Mary Beard's recent "SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome" (https://www.amazon.com/SPQR-History-Ancient-Mary-Beard/dp/08...) and Barbara Tuchman's classic on WWI, "The Guns of August" (https://www.amazon.com/Guns-August-Pulitzer-Prize-Winning-Ou...).
…https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL931Bkj5KLMvaoUfenv1G... - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd2ch4XV84s&t=358s&list=PLi5... - https://www.amazon.com/The-Guns-of-August/dp/B004UEKON0
on “Ask HN: Could hackers prevent WW3?” ↗The Tuchman book "The Guns of August" is an amazing book on the first month of WW1. https://www.amazon.com/Guns-August-Pulitzer-Prize-Winning-Ou...
on “We're Entering a Golden Age of Podcasts” ↗For a history of the start of WWI, I really liked Guns of August by Barbera Tuchman. Also, there are some books whose authors wrote with a musicality that they are far better on audio than on paper. Included in this category are: - Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein…
on “Ask HN: What are the best audiobooks you have ever listened to?” ↗Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August about the first month of WWI. Got me interested in reading more history, and I think history has so much to teach us, but my quest really started with her and has branched out from there. Tuchman often…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗If you found The Guns of August interesting, you should have a look at The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Caldwell: 1914 read not through WW II but through the 1990s Balkan wars and Serbian irrendentism.
on “Interpreting Eric Hobsbawm's History of the Fin de Siècle ‘Twilight Zone’” ↗…studies in escalation toward a war that no single actor actually wanted, I recommend Stephen Van Evera's Causes of War with a focus on his study of WWI. It goes well paired with Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August.
on “U.S. seeks to revive idled shipyards with help of Japan, South Korea” ↗