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Summary: One of the most influential books of the 20th Century
Review: What more can be said about this work which has the distinction of changing the way late 20th Century man thinks? (Well, at least the way JFK thought) All I can say that the book is as gripping as it is important. It should be on any educated person's mandatory reading list and it's a helluvalot more enjoyable than Paradise Lost or the Divine Comedy! Pick it up...no one brings history alive better than Tuchman.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent but SLOW
Review: This book is the best that I have ever seen at outlining and explaining (sometimes in painstaking detail) the events surrounding the onset of WWI. The interpersonal conflicts and roles are clearly addressed, but detail makes it a slow go.
Rating:
Summary: Fair, Un-Biased Account of the Beginning of the Great War
Review: Barbara Tuchman is one of the greatest historical writers, with-out a doubt. She ranks in the Pantheon of such figures as Heroditus, Robert K. Massie, and Sir Winston Churchill. Although _Guns of August_ was a tad long and technical, it is still one of the best works of this century.
As she said in the preface to _Guns of August_, 'I have tried to avoid spontaneous attribution or the "he must have" style of historical writing: "As he watched the coastline of France disappear, Napoleon must have though back over the long ...". All conditions of weather, thoughts or feelings, and states of mind ... have documentary support.' That is the sign of a good historical writer. She can simply relate the facts and give the reader the kind of suspense from a thriller movie, or the emotion from a romantic one. As she described the out-break of war between USA and Germany, one sympathized with Bernstorff and the American Ambassador to Germany. They each had friends in their host countries, and they cried to leave them. Similarly, the exchange between Count Friedrich von Pourtales and Sergej Sazonow is just as touching:
'Pourtales staggered to the window, leaned against it, and burst into tears. "So this is the end of my mission," he said when he could speak. Sazonow patted him on the shoulder, they embraced, and Pourtales stumbled to the door, which he could hardly open with a trembling hand, and went out murmuring, "Good-bye, good-bye."' (page 103)
Reading these books was an experience; it was more exciting than watching a movie, or even reading a novel. These were the facts, told simply. There was no superfluous additions; no editorial comments. Yet they were able to touch me, and I began to sympathize with the characters, similar to how I would react to a fictional one. Tuchman was able to weave poor, misguided Wilhelm; innocent, unrealistic Wilson; vindictive, blood-thirsty Churchill; and pessimistic Helmuth von Moltke into a tapestry of fantastic story-telling. And the conclusion: I found myself rooting for the Germans. To be able to make me switch sides alone; that is the greatest feat. Her unpartisan writing is the stuff the best books are made of.
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Summary: World History required reading!
Review: This is a wonderfully detailed accounting of World War I that anyone who has even the most remote interest in the subject should read. You will get a better and more complete knowledge of the causes and leadership of the war than you could have ever desired. It gives a great depiction of the strategy and tactics of the war, which I highly enjoyed. It also gives an objective account of all the decisions made. The only possible downside is the large amount of names thrown at you, which some people may like, however. All in all, a must read for anyone who likes to read.
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Summary: Thoughts for the Millenium
Review: This book is especially worth reading now as we are about to leave the 20th century. Are we any less rigid or less arrogant in our thinking than the British, French and Germans were at the start of this century? This book not only offers insight into the root causes of the first World War but some interesting thoughts about our own time. One reader thought Barbara Tuchman was unfairly critical of Germans. I am of German ancestry and frankly, the Germans were as arrogant as she says they were. This arrogance is the same danger we Americans face now with our technology. We, too, are in danger of making the same mistakes that the Germans did. Let's hope that it doesn't take two major wars to deflate our outsized national ego. Let's hope we don't elect an insecure bully (and dumbkopf) like Kaiser Wilhelm II to be our president.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent detail and great perspective, but a laborious read
Review: A fine acount of the start of war and of the minds and attitudes of the major players. Excellent detail is both a blessing and a curse, sometimes making the going very slow. Few books address the personalities and interpersonal conflicts of the leaders on both sides as well as this book.
Rating:
Summary: A superb read
Review: This portrait of World War I's origins and beginning days is in penetrating as well as eloquently written. This book sheds light on a subject which Americans especially lack knowledge, and does so in a memorable and intelligent style. At the very least, this book teaches the reader dozens of new vocabulary words, as well as rather interesting ways to put them together in sentances and paragraphs. Perhaps the only shortcomming was a slight lack in character devolpment, but this is attributable to the lack of character evidence since the play was mainly based off historical information.
Rating:
Summary: Companions needed
Review: One of the most detailed book about war, it brings vivid image to the readers and brings them to the first historical month of the WWI. With smartly chosen words, Barbara Tuchman succeded in creating a masterpiece. Unfortunately, for the non-English native speakers...this book is too complicated. If there is no other choice than to read this book, be sure to buy its companions: a dictionary and a thesaurus.
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Summary: Tuchman shows how the writing of history should be done
Review: This detailed military history covers the prelude to and the first month of World War I. Tuchman gives what almost seems like an eye-witness account of the events and personalities involved in the outbreak of war. Her narrative style makes the people and events real to the reader, as the world stumbles into a war that brings with it the destruction of the old order. An outstanding feature of this book is the language itself. Tuchman uses words so skillfully that the words themselves are haunting and memorable. The vivid images created in the reader's mind from her descriptions stay long after the book is finished. This is how history should be written
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: Without doubt the finest account of the start of the so-called Great War, with superb character sketches of the impressive men who made terrible errors of judgement that lead to prolongation of the war for four horrific years. Simply a must read
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