Barbara W. Tuchman
Barbara W. Tuchman (1912–1989) was an American historian and author known for narrative histories including The Guns of August and A Distant Mirror.
The Guns of August: Barbara W. Tuchman’s 1962 history of the opening month of World War I. This account of August 1914 brought Tuchman broad recognition and won the Pulitzer Prize.
Henry Morgenthau Sr.: An American diplomat and businessman who served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Tuchman’s maternal grandfather’s diplomatic career connected her family history to the era she later wrote about.
Joseph Stilwell: A U.S. Army general who served in China and Burma during World War II. Tuchman made his career and American policy in China the subject of a major biography.
Social history: The study of past societies, often emphasizing ordinary people, institutions, and everyday life. Tuchman’s books foreground political decisions and prominent figures more than social history often does.
A Distant Mirror: Barbara W. Tuchman’s 1978 history of fourteenth-century Europe, centered on the life of Enguerrand VII de Coucy. It shows her approach to a long historical era through one aristocratic life.
Radcliffe College: A women’s liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, historically associated with Harvard University. Tuchman studied history at Radcliffe and graduated in 1933.
Enguerrand VII de Coucy: A French nobleman and soldier who lived from about 1340 to 1397. Tuchman used his life as a vantage point on fourteenth-century Europe in A Distant Mirror.
Cliometrics: The application of economic theory and quantitative methods to historical research. Its statistical approach differs from Tuchman’s emphasis on narrative, character, and documentary detail.
The Proud Tower: Barbara W. Tuchman’s 1966 history of the years 1890–1914, before World War I. This book supplies the political and social setting for the crisis traced in The Guns of August.
Spanish Civil War: The 1936–1939 conflict between Spain’s Republican government and Nationalist forces led by Francisco Franco. Tuchman reported from Spain early in her career, before establishing herself as a historian.