The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman

Economic considerations made the idea of any continued war unfeasible because a long war would be too costly besides, most thought that the balance of power in place would keep everyone secure and desirous of maintaining that balance. So the idea of civilized man going to war against civilized man was doubly negated by the idea of cousin going to war against cousin. In addition, many of the noble families in Europe were related through marriage to one another.

The bourgeois world of material well-being and manners was everywhere in evidence throughout Europe. was a time of increased prosperity and comfort and culture. The end of the 19th and start of the 20th c. At the outbreak of the war, Europe had been at peace, at least within its boundaries, for more than 40 years, and the thought of a European War seemed incredible. Unlike previous wars, WWI was an unraveling of the social contract and the expectations of civilized behavior, an erosion of the ideas of what combatants may do in war. It was unlike any war that had preceded it, in that advances in technology allowed for much greater damage and tremendous casualties, while at the same time improved medical technology and practice allowed many who, in previous wars, would have died from their injuries or infections, to continue living as a bitter indictment of that terrible conflict.

The war itself was a terrible revelation. And so, over the course of this year I’ll be looking at 12 books (well, 11 books and a graphic novel collection) of items either written during World War I, or about that terrible war. There are still celebrations and events going on at the Kansas City Public Library, the National World War I Museum, and elsewhere in Kansas City throughout the 100 year anniversary of the Great War.

As some of you may remember, The Guns of August was part of the Great War | Great Read celebration held this past summer and fall, in time for the 100th anniversary of the events described in Barbara Tuchman’s award-winning book.

The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman