About this title: From the distinguished American historian whose work has been acclaimed around the world, a major new book that penetrates one of the most bizarre and fascinating paradoxes in history: the persistent pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own intersts. Across the march of thirty centuries, Tuchman brings to life the dramatic events which constitute folly's hallmark in government; the fall of Troy, symbolic prototype of freely chosen disaster; the Protestant secession, provoked by six decades of spectacularly corrupt papcy; the British forfeiture of the American colonies; and ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780345308238ISBN:0345308239
Description: Good. 169-Y Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780345308238ISBN:0345308239
Description: Good. Standard used condition. May have light reading or storage wear. All orders processed within 2 business days. Ships from Foxboro MA. read more
Edition: First Thus
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine, New York
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780345308238ISBN:0345308239
Description: Good. No Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. xvi, 447 pp. First printing thus. The covers are scuffed at the edges, and the spine is bowed. The pages are slightly tanned at the edges. The binding is secure, and the text is clean. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780345308238ISBN:0345308239
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. unread tpb by tuchman. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 464 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780345308238ISBN:0345308239
Description: Good. First printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Moderate cover wear with scuffing to edges and creasing on spine. Age toning. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Joseph, London
Date Published: 1984
ISBN-13:9780718124328ISBN:0718124324
Description: Good. xiv,447p.,[32]p. of plates : ill.(some col.), ports.(some col.) ; 25 cm. Includes: illustrations, portraits. Includes bibliographies and index. read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Book has some water damage, but book is still completely readable. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1985
ISBN-13:9780345308238ISBN:0345308239
Description: Fair. 0345308239. Great Value. Prompt delivery with tracking. Many satisfied customers. Satisfaction guaranteed. Enjoy! ; 1 x 8.2 x 5.3 Inches; 464 pages. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Good; Abacus, London
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780349106748ISBN:0349106746
Description: Reprint. Small 8vo 7½"-8" tall Soiling on top page edges; spine cocked; creasing in a few top page corners in middle of text and in top corner of front cover; 559 pages; From the distinguished American historian whose work has been acclaimed around the world, a major new book that penetrates one of the most bizarre and fascinating paradoxes in history: the persistent pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own intersts. Across the march of thirty centuries, Tuchman brings to life ... read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780345308238ISBN:0345308239
Description: Good+ 447 pages--illustrated with photos--creasing & edgewear to covers--pages clean, but rippled due to the tightness of the binding--1/4 pages of notes inside front cover--prev. owners name inside--good+ reading copy. read more
Description: Good. 23 pages at beginning with tidy marks, otherwise very clean, bright, covers glossy, like new, binding square, tight, fully illustrated, very reliable shipper(shelf#2223) read more
"This is the 3rd book that I have read by Barbara Tuchman and I find that she is very thoughtful historian. I suppose that when you are writing and researching events after the fact, it does allow you be thoughtful and opinionated as in the case of this book. I had this book for quite awhile and decided to read it because of the 2nd Iraq War and the passing of Robert MacNamara, one of the tacticians of the escalation of the VietNam War. If Barbara Tuchman were alive, would she find folly in the executions of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps, she would find that the war in Afghanistan started in the national interest, but because we took our eye off this prize, we our now mired down in an extended campaign with no end in sight. These are same people who battled the Soviet Union. I guess this falls under wooden-headedness and/or having a short-memory span. The U.S. did not pick up and/or decided to ignore any intelligence of value that would have assisted its efforts about the people Afghanistan or the land. Al Queda knows the terrain and like VietNam, they seem to keep coming. Once again, there is body-count being used to measure the war. With this war, there is still the support of the American people because we believe that we were truly wronged.
The 2nd Iraq War is whole different animal. It has all of the trappings of the Vietnam: political lying and intimidation; ideological hawks; wooden-headedness; failure to weigh differences of opinion; failure to act in the Nation's self-interest; failure to understand the people of the region. If you could swap characters, here are some names to consider: Presidents Johnson (escalation) and George W Bush, both from Texas; John Foster Dulles (ideologue) and Dick Cheyney; Robert MacNamara and Donald Rumsfeld; Dean Rusk and Condoleeza Rice. Other people may have different historical matches, but I thought that these seemed to good matches."
"It was good, but not by her standards. Episodic and a bit shallow. I expected more of a systematic look at historical folly, but she just picked out 4 cases(Troy, The Renaissance Popes, Georgian England, Vietnam) and covered those more or less well. The middle two cases were really good and taught me stuff I didn't already know, the other two were fairly indifferent."
"This is an eminently readable history book for the non-academic, as well as an excellent example of academic writing for historians; Tuchman uses three "well-known" historic episodes to exemplify how what we know is conditioned by how we are taught it."
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