An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List
The Guns of August
Author: Barbara Tuchman
Referenced in 3 episodes
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August 27, 2025
Context:
Dominic mentions it was the first book he read about the First World War as a child and still holds a candle for it, though he acknowledges that historians of the First World War despise it and Tom describes it as 'basically a brilliant work of fiction.' Tuchman's pen portraits of figures like Sir John French are quoted.
July 25, 2024
Context:
Described as 'her incredibly popular book that JFK loved'; referenced to note that the assassination of Franz Ferdinand gets only about two sentences in it because the focus is on Belgium
July 14, 2024
Context:
Referenced in discussion of how JFK was obsessed with learning lessons from WWI during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Described as a book Kennedy was fascinated by.