The Guns of August

[Bort]

CT, TEC, Bort and any of you other WWI enthusiasts should read this: http://www.amazon.com/The-Sleepwalkers-Europe-Went-1914/dp/0061146668 Mother in law got it for me for Christmas. Good stuff.

Bump.

Similar to The Sleepwalkers, I just finished The War that Ended Peace which is also an excellent book about Europe in the run up to WWI.  Also, if you like podcasts (and who doesn't) I'll echo Slaky's recommendation of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History series on WWI as well.

I'll echo both of your recommendations. His entire Hardcore History series is a hell of a listen. They only come out like once every 3-4 months, but each one is about 3-4 hours long.

[CT III]

Bumped in service of my quest to consume every piece of written word I can find concerning WWI.

Two more recommendations:

A World Undone:The Story of the Great War by GJ Meyer - if you listened to the Hardcore History series on WWI you'll probably recognize this as one of Carlin's favorite sources and for good reason.  Meyer's writing style makes it interesting, and he does not spare anyone on any side in his brutal assessment of the commanders and leaders on the various sides.

Paris 1919: Six Months that Changes the World by Margaret MacMillan - I previously recommended MacMillan's The War That Ended Peace which was about the run up to the war, and her book on WWI's peace process might be better.  Basically the Allies came together with the intent of putting together a peace treaty that was going to punish Germany but not too harshly, since they recognized that a lasting enmity would likely lead to another World War.  Unfortunately, the Big Four (LOL Italy) got so caught up in completely redrawing the maps of Southeast Europe and the Middle East that the German treaty became almost and afterthought and the Germans were basically handed a half-assed document to sign that created exactly the kind of resentment they sought to avoid, specifically a clause that required Germany to accept all fault for the war (in part because most of the rest of the Central Powers ceased to exist). 

Also, somewhat shocking to be reminded there was a time when the President of the United States could just fuck off to Europe for like 6 straight months.

[CBStew]

Bumped in service of my quest to consume every piece of written word I can find concerning WWI.

Two more recommendations:

A World Undone:The Story of the Great War by GJ Meyer - if you listened to the Hardcore History series on WWI you'll probably recognize this as one of Carlin's favorite sources and for good reason.  Meyer's writing style makes it interesting, and he does not spare anyone on any side in his brutal assessment of the commanders and leaders on the various sides.

Paris 1919: Six Months that Changes the World by Margaret MacMillan - I previously recommended MacMillan's The War That Ended Peace which was about the run up to the war, and her book on WWI's peace process might be better.  Basically the Allies came together with the intent of putting together a peace treaty that was going to punish Germany but not too harshly, since they recognized that a lasting enmity would likely lead to another World War.  Unfortunately, the Big Four (LOL Italy) got so caught up in completely redrawing the maps of Southeast Europe and the Middle East that the German treaty became almost and afterthought and the Germans were basically handed a half-assed document to sign that created exactly the kind of resentment they sought to avoid, specifically a clause that required Germany to accept all fault for the war (in part because most of the rest of the Central Powers ceased to exist). 

Also, somewhat shocking to be reminded there was a time when the President of the United States could just fuck off to Europe for like 6 straight months.

I can recommend the American Heritage book about WWl.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3254897-the-american-heritage-history-of-world-war-i
It is not scholarly, but it has a great collection of photos and maps.  It was published over 50 years ago so you can only get it used.

[flannj]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

[Tonker]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

No.

[Bort]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

No.

No.

[ChuckD]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

No.

No.

No.

[flannj]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

No.

No.

No.

Good to know. Thanks guys!

[Tinker to Evers to Chance]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

No.

No.

No.

Yes.

[Tinker to Evers to Chance]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

No.

No.

No.

Yes.

Wait.  I mean no.

No.

[Tonker]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

No.

No.

No.

Yes.

Wait.  I mean no.

No.

Good work, everybody.

[CT III]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

I know I'm late to the party here, but yes. Yes I have.

[flannj]

Although "Guns of August" is perhaps her best known and most widely read book, I was stunned by "A Distant Mirror", about the final Crusade and its impact on European history.  Had that Crusade not happened, or had it ended earlier we would all be speaking French today.

*Dusts off cobwebs*
I knew there were long lost posts somewhere in the dark recesses of the Desipio fruit cellar about Barbara W. Tuchman.
I'm just starting "Stillwell and the American Experience in China".
Anybody here read it?

I know I'm late to the party here, but yes. Yes I have.

Thank you CT.
A fairly accurate description:

Barbara Tuchman's Stilwell and the American Experience in China is wonderful historical writing; it quickly becomes obvious why it earned the Pulitzer for General Non-fiction in 1972. Ostensibly about American Joseph Stilwell, a West Point graduate who spent years in China on-and-off between 1911 and 1945 as a visitor, as military attaché, and finally as theatre commander during World War II, it really is the underlying story of China's evolution from the rule of dynasties to a struggle for the heart of a new nation-state. The fall of the Manchu Dynasty, the rise of Sun Yat-sen as President, then his disciple Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang party, and the groundwork for a Communist nation under Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai at the end of World War II are covered. It ends with hints of the Red Scare/Joe McCarthy Era to come. An excellent primer on how China became what it is today.

This book was given to me by a neighbor that used to be the head of HR at Motorola. He spent huge amounts of time in East Asia during the time when the company was expanding in that area of the world. He gave it to me because he got sick of my questions about how he managed so well in such a different culture. Understanding  what actions formed modern China is where so much of it starts.

I know so little about this history but I am finding it to be an excellent and thoroughly interesting read and I'm inhaling it.
Highly recommended for all you history nerds.

[CT III]

It's been some time since I read it, but what I still remember was Stilwell's constant issues with Chiang Kai-shek with their relationship deteriorating to the point where he advocated to DC to cut a deal with the Mao's Communists as he thought they were the better fighting force.

Also the phrase "illegitimi non carborundum" a printout of which currently hangs from the wall of my cube.

And finally, accidentally running across the movie 1941 on television a few years ago and realizing that Robert Stack's portrayal of Stilwell in that movie was so much what I imagined the real guy to be like that I wished we'd gotten a biopic with Stack in the role.