Tuchman’s thesis is that governments frequently, through sheer obstinacy and stupidity, do things that are injurious to their own interests. She cites four primary historical examples: the Trojans in the Trojan War, the papacy preceding the Reformation, the British government during the American Revolution, and the government of the United States during the Vietnam War. But it is when she gets to Vietnam that you get the feeling that this is primarily what she has been leading up to and is her primary purpose in writing this book. Tuchman seems to believe that political power has a way of insulating leaders from reality until it is too late, and that it is easier for leaders to stick to a faulty plan than to admit a mistake and make a course correction. However persuasive her arguments are…and they are fairly persuasive…this book makes a nice trip through history and is as enjoyable for its narrative rendering as it is for its polemics
Jun 18 2012
The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2012/06/18/the-march-of-folly-by-barbara-tuchman/
Recent Posts
- Pretty Simple Coloring: Joy by Adams Media March 18, 2024
- The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall March 15, 2024
- I’ll See You In Ijebu by Bunmi Emenanjo & Diana Ejaita March 14, 2024
- The Everywhere Atom by Christine Shearer & Kaz Clarke March 13, 2024
- Market Day by Miranda Harmon March 12, 2024
- Sharp Wit And The Company Of Women edited by Michele Abounader March 11, 2024
- Table Titans Club by Scott Kurtz March 7, 2024
- Polar Vortex: A Family Memoir by Denise Dorrance March 6, 2024
- Cactus Kid And The Battle For Star Rock Mountain by Emmanuel Guerrero March 5, 2024
- Mary Tyler MooreHawk by Dave Baker March 4, 2024
Categories
Tag Cloud
Al
Alternate History
Art
Asia
Auf Deutsch
Autobiography
Children's
Discworld
Doreen
Doug
Dystopia
Eastern Europe
England
Fabulous Ones
Fantasy
Feminism
Fiction
Germany
Graphic Novels
History
Horror
Hugo Finalist
Humor
Laura
LGBTQIA
Literature
Mystery
Mythology
Non-fiction
Philosophy
Poetry
Poland
Politics
Religion
Romance
Russia
Science
Science Fiction
Short Stories
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Terry Pratchett
Thriller
Urban Fantasy
World War II
Young Adult