In the summer of 1914, the world slid toward catastrophe.
Barbara W. Tuchman’s The Guns of August traces the first month of World War I, when military blunders, political miscalculations, and rigid alliances turned diplomatic tension into global disaster. From the funeral of Edward VII to the thunder of artillery on the Western Front, she brings to life the monarchs, generals, and ministers whose choices shaped a century.
With sweeping narrative power and incisive detail, Tuchman shows how pride, fear, and miscommunication launched one of history’s deadliest conflicts.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, The Guns of August remains a towering achievement in historical writing, a vivid portrait of a world hurtling toward war, and a cautionary tale that still echoes today.
