I listened to The Proud Tower, by Barbara Tuchman (audio book) over several weeks at work. It was LONG so I can't imagine how long the actual book must be! As with most of the audio books I listen to while working, I couldn't pay close attention to everything, but it was very interesting all the same. It was a look at the social and political mood of the world in the 30 or so years leading up to World War I. That is a time period I don't recall studying much in school. The growth of socialism, the growth - in numbers and political power - of the middle class, the advances and restrictions on new weapons ... all these contributed to the political climate leading up to the Great War. I don't know if I'll ever sit down and read this book in full, but it is a wonderful resource for someone wanting to understand how the world changed seemingly overnight.
This book is a scholarly historical look at the elements leading up to WW1. This is a historical classic. Tuchman has an outstanding reputation as a stellar historian. Chapters include English patricians, anarchists in European countries and America, American politics from 1890-1902, The Dreyfus affair and how it split France, the formation of the Hague, rising German militarism under Kaiser Wilhelm, England's transfer of power from 1902-1911, and the socialists of western Europe and America.
For anyone interested in the interplay of history, politics, anarchist and socialist elements in western Europe, the United States and Russia, this is a brilliant book.
Two personal notes: on my grandfather-in-law's ship manifest bringing him from Ukraine in 1906 to Ellis Island, there was a question on the manifest, "are you an anarchist?" We laugh over that, wondering who would be dumb or brazen enough to reply with a "yes" even if they were one.
Second: After reading in this book about Charles William Eliot, president of Harvard University, I mentioned to my son, a Harvard grad, that I had read about Eliot and recalled that there is an Eliot House at Harvard named after Eliot. He remarked, "not only is there an Eliot House, but in the quad (formerly Radcliffe quad, now part of Harvard, housing several Harvard residential "houses,") there is a Tuchman wing" named after this author, Barbara Tuchman. Interesting!
For anyone interested in the interplay of history, politics, anarchist and socialist elements in western Europe, the United States and Russia, this is a brilliant book.
Two personal notes: on my grandfather-in-law's ship manifest bringing him from Ukraine in 1906 to Ellis Island, there was a question on the manifest, "are you an anarchist?" We laugh over that, wondering who would be dumb or brazen enough to reply with a "yes" even if they were one.
Second: After reading in this book about Charles William Eliot, president of Harvard University, I mentioned to my son, a Harvard grad, that I had read about Eliot and recalled that there is an Eliot House at Harvard named after Eliot. He remarked, "not only is there an Eliot House, but in the quad (formerly Radcliffe quad, now part of Harvard, housing several Harvard residential "houses,") there is a Tuchman wing" named after this author, Barbara Tuchman. Interesting!
8 separate essays, all connected by segues. I remember reading this several times when it first came out almost 30 years ago. It has a section on the Titanic, the Dreyfus Affair, and the Socialist movement.
I listened to The Proud Tower, by Barbara Tuchman (audio book) over several weeks at work. It was LONG so I can't imagine how long the actual book must be! As with most of the audio books I listen to while working, I couldn't pay close attention to everything, but it was very interesting all the same. It was a look at the social and political mood of the world in the 30 or so years leading up to World War I. That is a time period I don't recall studying much in school. The growth of socialism, the growth - in numbers and political power - of the middle class, the advances and restrictions on new weapons ... all these contributed to the political climate leading up to the Great War. I don't know if I'll ever sit down and read this book in full, but it is a wonderful resource for someone wanting to understand how the world changed seemingly overnight.
