In The March of Folly, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Barbara Tuchman tackles the pervasive presence of folly in governments through the ages. Defining folly as the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives, Tuchman details four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly in government: the Trojan War, the breakup of the Holy See provoked by the Renaissance popes, the loss of the American colonies by Britain's George III, and the United States' persistent folly in Vietnam.
The March of Folly brings the people, places, and events of history magnificently alive for today's reader.
The historian defines "folly" as a policy of those in power that acts "in contradiction to their own interests" despite alternatives. She chooses four examples: the fall of Troy, the near destruction of the Christian Church in the sixteenth century, the British attempt to retain the American Colonies, and the United States' disastrous pursuits in Vietnam. Without missing a single consonant and narrating at a pace that complements the author's abundant flow of information, Wanda McCaddon employs her award-winning talents to the fullest. McCaddon's French and Italian make her sound like a native speaker of both. The satire of the Renaissance popes exemplifies the color both author and narrator bring to didactic narrative. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
Times...
"Among contemporary historians Barbara Tuchman stands supreme."
About the Author
Barbara W. Tuchman(1912–1989), American historian and winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, graduated from Radcliffe College in 1933. A self-trained historian, she was a writer for The Nation and an editor for the U.S. Office of War Information. In her later years she was a lecturer at Harvard and the U.S. Naval War College.
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