The Guns Of August
(Barbara W. Tuchman)
ce There are many books out there on the Great War, as the Europeans called the First World War. There are very few written as a novel would be. Barbara Tuchman's book is by far a classic. No one tells a tale of non-fiction like she does, in a way that makes the reader feel as if they are reading a book of historic fiction, or one based on historic events but with fictional characters.
The time period covers, in most of the book, a very short period of time, but the story begins quite a piece before the actual shooting begins, with the funeral of King Edward VII of England. There are important reasons to begin there because of the uneasy existence of peace between the Great Powers of Europe and the fact that most of the rulers of these countries were relatives. From there the author takes us on an informational ride through a decade of planning and scheming,where many governments and their military establishments would prepare for an expected future war. The tale is told all the way to the summer of that fateful year of 1914, and soon the events begin to take of at an unbelievable pace.
The First World War is here told only through the first few months of the war but one can seethe drama of the decision-making unfold as an entire continent holds its breath. The author expresses opinions, sometimes openly, on these decisions and their aftermath, but no doubt is left on how alternatives could have been selected. Before the reader is completed they may be surprised tofeel rather hopeless and lost at the fate of mankind.
This story is one that can teach lessons to our generation of readers, if interested enough to contemplate. The fate of nations is at the mercy of leaders whose intentions are sometimes questioned, and even doubted. The stupidity of such decision-making can help us understand how disastrous they can be. If one chooses to see the correlation between those events and ones today they can judge that we can learn lessons but we must be willing to do so. To trust leadership is probably the most difficult to fathom today, and yet some say we cannot learn from history. Imagine that, if you read!
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