1890-1914, A Portrait of the World Before the War

Tuchman brings alive the "fin de siecle" in social terms. The decadance of that era is illustrated by the actions of notable dignitaries of the time. Other salient issues in the "fin de siecle" are brought to life a la the Dreyfus affair and the Hague Peace conferences. If you enjoy social history, or you enjoy reading a great book about a phenominal time period I assure you this is worth the money!

This book probably deserves 4 or even 5 stars, but for me, it was too much. Tuchman describes the tone and state of the world in the pre WWI era -- not only political but cultural -- and gives us a richly detailed view of the era. If I were a scholar doing research into the causes of WWI, the book would be extremely useful. But I'm not. I just wanted to read a good book that gave me more of an overview. I tried and never succeeded in reading "The Guns of August" and I grew tired of this book also. I guess Tuchman is not my cup of tea. She gives good history but I was looking for something more popular. One thing I did enjoy, however, were her often-witty observations and quotes from the players in the book. But that wasn't enough to keep me from eventually skipping pages and hurrying to the end. So, I offer three stars only because it was too long and detailed -- for me. I respect the opinion of others who thought more highly of it.

Barbara Tuchman's Proud Tower us an excellent picture of the leading countries in Europe and America in the decade or so before the First World War. It is full of the excellent writing and engaging details typical of Tuchman's books. It was informative and very entertaining. I recommend it highly.

Barbara Tuchman's books on World War I are classics and ought to be on the shelves of anyone who is a student of History for the time period prior to and during World War I. The price is terrific considering what I first paid for this book in hardbound copy when it came out.

Overall the author provides some interesting insights into the factors leading to World War I. The book is probably more appropriate for very serious students of history as it sometimes goes into a level of detail on seemingly minor players that more casual readers will find excessive.

I read this one right after finishing Guns of August. It's easy to see why GoA is considered the classic, but The Proud Tower is still a fascinating read. Tuchman manages to weave all of the chapters, each of which focus on their own section of European society, into a narration that's fun and interesting to progress through. It has some slightly slow points, particularly toward the beginning, but it builds toward a fascinating finish with the socialists and Jean Jaures, and whatnot. Great stuff.

This book is well regarded but honestly I found it very hard going, thanks largely to the author's exceedingly long and needlessly complex sentence structure. I am a student of WW One and know a great deal about it and the years preceding it, and in places Tuchman's discussion is shallow; in others pointlessly verbose. The chapter on Socialism was very nearly unreadable and getting through it made my eyes glaze over from the endless detail of a movement that was created out of fantasy and in the end accomplished nothing at all. I know there are people who still spout the rhetoric of the 19th Century Socialist movement but it seems unnecessary to have given them what amounted to a third of the book I'm not sorry to have read it, but there is no way I could ever read it again.

This book more than lives up to expectation; given the scope of information it contains. Ms. Tuchman remains both an excellent historian and writer. I find much here, too, pertinent to today's political scene.

This is an extraordinary book. It gives a superb picture of the political-cultural-economic and social events in England, the USA, France, Russia and Germany toward the end of the nineteenth century. There are many fine accounts, for example, of the Dreyfus affaire but this is the best. The not so secret of Mrs. Tuchman's success is that she is a great writer, in addition to being a wonderful historian.

People asked how could the European powers have made such a huge blunder? After reading The Proud Tower, you realize that, given the attitudes of those days, it was....inevitable. This is what is scary to me. How EASILLY it happened!

People asked how could the European powers have made such a huge blunder? After reading The Proud Tower, you realize that, given the attitudes of those days, it was....inevitable. This is what is scary to me. How EASILLY it happened!

Hard to believe that this is the same person who, years ago, wrote the terrific ''A Distant Mirror,'' a fascinating history of Europe's extremely bizarre 14th century. This is an insanely exhaustive, and exhausting, account of the events leading to the first world war. Thousands of facts and dates and names and places almost devoid of any spark, like a bad textbook. Not fascinating. Tempted to give it one star, but it is informative and interesting in a few spots. .

I am a history buff, so I enjoy background information, and there was a lot of it! Be prepared to visit the authors notes in the back more then once during your read. It is a lenghty book, but worth the effort.

I would recommend this book to all students of history and anybody who just likes a good read. Like "The Guns of August" it is exciting, somber in message, and a scary reminder of how stupid people in power can destroy a world.

This richly detailed work provides a real sense of the historical forces at work in the period before World War I, as well as showing how the individual personalities interacting during the time. I found it wonderfully informative.

A formative period of history analysed through multiple national perspectives. It could have been dull. This is anything but. History told with verve and humour, leaving indelible impressions of the principal characters who play their part in the drama.

The author succeeds in presenting her vast reading on this historical period with her usual elegant prose. However, sometimes she gets close to excess in details and to being tedious. I found the relevance of the different chapters, people and events described somewhat uneven. Ditto for her interpretation of the big picture developing in different national scenarios. The book wants indeed a chapter on Russia, where the War resulted in one the most important events that would shape the rest of the century. Last, and perhaps least, I was baffled by her brief, failed mention to Spain. It is full of gross clichés and to put it mildly, geographical errors, unworthy of the author's learning . Her quote of the deposed Queen Isabella on 1890 "sad" Madrid should be confronted with young Azorín's perception of "flowing modernity" that he found on his arrival to the city 5 years later, as well as Valera's chronicles for La Nación of Buenos Aires. Those of Argentine journalist, writer and scholar Ricardo Rojas,(see "Retablo Español"), who thoroughly explored the Spanish intellectual and general social scenario as a young reporter in 1908 would also have been a worthy source for Ms. Tuchman. But as far as I know there is no English translation. It seems likely that Ms. Tuchman was not able to read Spanish. That would explain her sticking to such facile clichés and mistakes on the Spanish political and social scenario of the "Restauración" times.

"The Proud Tower" gave me an insight in the worldpolitics that were the direct or indirect reasons for the first worldwar, and interested me very much. However, as I am not English,( I am Belgian) I had some difficulty in following the politics in England, because there were so many names, and also the system of voting seemed very strange.In France too, altough I knew of the "affaire Dreyfuss", through literature, I felt there were overmuch names mentioned, so reading was sometimes hardgoing!
The cultural chapter I liked very much.

We dimly know we thought of progress of machines and the soul impossible to hide together, once. Then there was Cuba to take, and the US started after better names for what it did. The Philippines was won. Tom Reed gave up.

We dimly know we thought of progress of machines and the soul impossible to hide together, once. Then there was Cuba to take, and the US started after better names for what it did. The Philippines was won. Tom Reed gave up.

The Proud Tower is the product of abundant research, and written by one easily able to marshal convincing, true - and riveting - stories to support her points. The book teaches much about the period's politics, culture and social phenomena.

Tuchman's attitudes are those of a bright, independent, war-hating liberal, open - even yearning for - the vast expansion of government (in a still democratic society) urged by some in Europe and America at that time. Having written the hugely popular The Guns of August, and writing this book at the time of the Vietnam War, Tuchman (who famously opposed the Vietnam War) is quite influenced in what she selected to tell of the views, movements and speeches of that time.

If you feel:

I) that the Lords should NOT have been "reformed" - that the reform has been disastrous;

ii) that the expansion of government sought and eventually accomplished by the Socialist and Labour parties in Europe - led directly to a Europe sclerotic in economy, uninventive without incentive, unable to grow as in the 19th century;

iii) that the feminism that arose from the attitudes promulgated by the suffragettes has increasingly made life significantly worse for both sexes;

iv) that regardless of the foreign relations and military preparedness that had existed prior to 1914 - Austria was right to invade Serbia for its sustaining support for those who assassinated the Archduke heir to the imperial throne - that naturally Russia would thus take Serbia's side, as Germany would take Austria's - and France would join this war to recover its provinces by allying with the nation against Germany - then there was no particular "mistake" that led to War -- except Serbia's deep wrong;

then you'll also feel throughout reading this highly enjoyable book - tugged in quite the opposite way from that Tuchman clearly wishes to convince.

Two examples of this are the heroic views Tuchman wishes us to take of France's Socialist Party founder Jean Jaures and anti-Spanish American War Senator Tom Platt. The Socialist Party in France has been a deeply negative force in French life over more than a century. The Spanish-American War was quite justified - the end of Spanish rule was long overdue - and American annexation of Puerto Rico, and temporary annexation of the Philippines and Cuba - hugely improved the lives of the people there for generations in the future. Such views will find themselves strongly in disagreement with Tuchman.

Despite these caveats, I do recommend reading The Proud Tower - particularly for its coverage of the arts of the time - the ballet, the opera, the literature, the painting - Tuchman easily enlists the reader in her wonderful anecdotes, setting of true dramatic scenes.