Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer looks at Barbara Tuchman's "The Proud Tower" and assesses how she handles the twenty-four year period in Europe which preceded the Great War. The writer examines Tuchman's writing style as well as her failing to make the linkage between the horrific events of late summer 1914 and the Bismarckian diplomacy which helped mightily to make the great conflagration inevitable. At the same time, the writer maintains that while the book does present a worthwhile examination of the psychological factors which appear to have guided at least the German and French people in their lust for martial combat, it fails to come up with a narrative that addresses the Eastern European hatreds without which the war might never have taken place (or at least not in 1914). The writer concludes that the book is a "good read" but for all its strengths not always good history.

From the Paper:

"Few events have ever changed the course of history as did the brutal four-plus years in which the western world found itself trapped in an interminable struggle that would end up destroying, for all intents and purposes, a generation of young men. However, the lead-up to World War I is at least as important as the war itself, if for no other reason than that it offers a cautionary tale on what leaders in the twenty-first century should avoid doing if they wish to create a military situation even more terrifying than the one which engulfed Europe nearly a century ago."

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