An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

The Guns of August

Author: Barbara Tuchman

Referenced in 3 episodes

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Episodes Referencing This Book

August 27, 2025

Context:

Tom mentions this was the first book he read about WWI as a child and still holds a candle for it, though he acknowledges historians of the First World War despise it and consider it basically 'a brilliant work of fiction.'

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.