The Guns Of August: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic About The Outbreak Of World War I

The Guns Of August: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic About The Outbreak Of World War I

Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all timeThe 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 eraIn this 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 opus is a classic for the ages. ?raise for The Guns of August ??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 ??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 JournalReview?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 ??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 JournalAbout the AuthorBarbara W. Tuchman (1912-1989) achieved prominence as a historian withThe Zimmermann Telegram and international fame withThe Guns of August-a huge bestseller and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Her other works includeBible and Sword, The Proud Tower, Stilwell and the American Experience in China (for which Tuchman was awarded a second Pulitzer Prize),Notes from China, A Distant Mirror, Practicing History, The March of Folly, andThe First Salute.Excerpt. ?Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.1 A Funeral So gorgeous was the spectacle on the May morning of 1910 when nine kings rode in the funeral of Edward VII of England that the crowd, waiting in hushed and black-clad awe, could not keep back gasps of admiration. In scarlet and blue and green and purple, three by three the sovereigns rode through the palace gates, with plumed helmets, gold braid, crimson sashes, and jeweled orders flashing in the sun. After them came five heirs apparent, forty more imperial or royal highnesses, seven queens-four dowager and three regnant-and a scattering of special ambassadors from uncrowned countries. Together they represented seventy nations in the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last. The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history?s clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again. In the center of the front row rode the new king, George V, flanked on his left by the Duke of Connaught, the late king?s only surviving brother, and on his right by a personage to whom, acknowledged The Times, ?belon