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The Guns of August

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The Guns of August

Written by: Barbara W. Tuchman
Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
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About this listen

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.
20th Century Wars & Conflicts World War Military Royalty Imperialism King Interwar Period
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What the critics say

"More dramatic than fiction...a magnificent narrative - beautifully organized, elegantly phrased, skillfully paced...The product of painstaking and sophisticated research." (Chicago Tribune)

What listeners say about The Guns of August

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Can't believe this happens only 100 years ago!

Great story, very well written. Hopefully, we will remember because we are heading the same way right now. The narration was very lively, with accent and everything.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Accurate window into past events

It is a good book. I can't say I liked it though...rather made me sad. Nothing has changed since unfortunately.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Great book, might be better in physical version

This is a great book about a pivotal moment in history. However, if like me, you usually listen to audiobooks while doing other things, this book can be difficult to follow. Frequently, I had to back up to listen to a part to understand what was happening, sometimes multiple times. This might be a book that's better off being read rather than listened to.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Guns of August

Brilliant observational synopsis of a conflagration of various geopolitical conditions that provide a salient cautionary tale for the present.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

bored

Struggled to get into the story. Got bored, and would forget what happend. Not for me this one.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Couldn’t finish it

It was difficult for me to maintain sufficient focus to remember names of generals and other details. I was looking for more geo-political insight, instead it was an account of troop movements and observations on personalities of generals.

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