Barbara Tuchman, 1912-1989

One of my favorite historians was Mrs. Barbara Tuchman. She began her career as a journalist and then put those talents to work writing history.  Having earned only a Bachelor's degree, she nevertheless competed in a man's field (history) in a man's world.   Moreover, she did not write about women's history. She wrote about such diverse topics as the Trojan War, the close of the Medieval era and the American Revolution.  She won her first Pulitzer for The Guns of August (1962), a fascinating account of the events leading up to the Great War.  I have used her books as sources for several of my courses, and they have added so much color and detail to my lectures.  History, at its best, tells a true account of events and lives past, a true STORY. Mrs. Tuchman was particularly gifted at telling the stories behind the events of human history.