Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time
The Proud Tower, the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Guns of August, and The Zimmerman Telegram comprise Barbara W. Tuchman’s classic histories of the First World War era
In The Guns of August, the landmark, Pulitzer Prize–winning account, renowned historian Barbara W. Tuchman re-creates the first month of World War I: thirty days in the summer of 1914 that determined the course of the conflict, the century, and ultimately our present world. Beginning with the funeral of Edward VII, Tuchman traces each step that led to the inevitable clash. And inevitable it was, with all sides plotting their war for a generation. Dizzyingly comprehensive and spectacularly portrayed with her famous talent for evoking the characters of the war’s key players, Tuchman’s magnum opusis a classic for the ages.
Praise for The Guns of August
“Fascinating . . . One of the finest works of history written . . . A splendid and glittering performance.”
–The New York Times
“A brilliant piece of military history which proves up to the hilt the force of Winston Churchill’s statement that the first month of World War I was ‘a drama never surpassed.’”—Newsweek
“[A] BEAUTIFULLY ORGANIZED, COMPELLING NARRATIVE.”
–San Francisco Chronicle
“More dramatic than fiction . . . a magnificent narrative—beautifully organized, elegantly phrased, skillfully paced and sustained.”—Chicago Tribune
“A fine demonstration that with sufficient art rather specialized history can be raised to the level of literature.”—The New York Times
“[The Guns of August] has a vitality that transcends its narrative virtues, which are considerable, and its feel for characterizations, which is excellent.”—The Wall Street Journal
“AN EPIC NEVER FLAGGING IN SUSPENSE . . . It seemed hardly possible that anything new of significance could be said about the prelude to and the first month of World War I. But this is exactly what Mrs. Tuchman has succeeded in doing . . . by transforming the drama’s protagonists as well as its immense supporting cast, from half-legendary and half shadowy figures into full-dimensional, believable persons.”
–The Christian Science Monitor
About the Author
Barbara W. Tuchman (January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian and author. She achieved prominence as a historian with The Zimmermann Telegram and international fame with The Guns of August, a best-selling history of the prelude to and the first month of World War I which won the Pulitzer Prize. There followed five more books: The Proud Tower, Stilwell and the American Experience in China (a biography of General Joseph Stilwell which also awarded the Pulitzer Prize), A Distant Mirror, Practicing History, and The March of Folly. The First Salute was Mrs. Tuchman’s last book before her death in February 1989.
Tuchman focused on writing popular history.
