The+Guns+of+August

Information about //[|The Guns of August]//
 * Barabara W. Tuchman**

Zach Arnold Being a huge fan of the evolution of war, I took and immeadiate interest in The Guns of August. The first reason being that WWI was a pivotal point in the history of war, because historians record it as the first modern war. I must admit I didn't quite know what I was getting into when I first saw how thick the book was, but as others are mentioning the mounds of detail in the book were slightly mundane. What I did enjoy and even praise was the focus on not just the important battles (The Marne, Somme and the like,) but some of the nameless battles where victories were made on a mano e mano basis. My take on the outlook of this book however was negative, countless times the book recounts reckless behavior, and abandon for humanity at the turn of the century. But one thing is certain, that this war was really the first modern war and the first to show of future wars to come.

Oh, the First World War, boys, It closed out its fate. The reason for fighting, I never got straight, But I learned to accept it, Accept it with pride, For you don't count the dead With God on your side.

Brian Hopkins The Guns of August is a truly deep and interesting novel. I found Barbera Tuchman's ability to devlop Historical Characters like they were long-lost friends Incredible. I enjoyed the in depth analysis of the events that led up to the start of World War I, as well as the psychological impact on the war. Prior to reading the book, I had no idea about any of the Historical figures in the book, and after reading it, I feel that I can understand and almost sympathize with them on a level that cannot be reached by reading any textbook.

Luke Donaldson While historical nonfiction is often dry and much like a textbook, for me, this book took it to a new level. I love history, and I enjoy most of the non fiction that I read, but I had a good deal of trouble getting through this book. On the other hand, it was exrtremely informative and gave a unique view into the Great War that was particularly striking. The accounts of the war's psychological effects on each character was the aspect that grabbed my attention the most. I respect Barbara Tuchman for her effort and insight, but I was suprised at the level of emotional detachment that the book provided. The first World War was the greatest era of general despair that the world has seen in modern history, but I believe that this book was not able to convey these emotions properly. In my opinion, though I learned a few new details about WWI, I believe that Barbara Tuchman almost insulted the memory of this massive tragic war by giving such an impersonal non fiction account of it.

Scott Lynch The Guns Of August gave me a new outlook on World War 1. Not only did I find out the numerous of details of how the war started, but the book also showed me the savagery of the countries and the cruelty towards the innocent civilians of enemy countries. The book taught me that in these wars even the commanders and generals are not only focused on winning the battle, but the urge to destroy the forces of the enemy as much as possible. This book showed that even the littlest incident may cause something horrible beyond reason. The Guns Of August showed me mainly the emotions of the minds behind The Battle of The Marne and their thoughts while the ordeal was occurring. This taught me that when the war started the battle was not to end of the war, but to start the war for the better or worse.

Tradd Lovern History to me is very interesting, especially when it comes to past wars. Last year in my world history class, one of the wars we studied was World War I. Since I took that course i knew the basics of World War I prior to reading The Guns of August, but i did not know every detail. Barbara Tuchman was able to go into great detail about WWI. The most interesting part of this book was when she explained everything that led up to World War I. Learning the plans for each country was the most appealing part for me. Those were my favorite chapters because it is fascinating to see how countries interact with each other before going to war. The way the author was able to show a country's attitude through a historical character in the book was just superb. Also during the battles Barbara Tuchman was able to show the emotions behind the battles and how horrible they were. Overall this was a good historical non fiction book about one of the worst wars that the world has ever seen. The beginning of the book was definitely the most entertaining part of the book for me and I would definitely recommend it to any history buff.

Tradd Dennis When start to read a nonfiction book you expect it to be a long boring fact filled account that is very boring and dry without it having a storyline to follow. In The Guns of August Barbara Tuchman is able to show the historical facts of the opening to World War 1 as a story with characters, although some might say that she had to many characters which created a confusion, in their specific roles. The countries had all alined and foreseen the coming war, but all had failed to see how the war would play out. The book overall I found although long was better than reading in a text book.