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The March of Folly

From Troy to Vietnam

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The March of Folly

By: Barbara W. Tuchman
Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
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About this listen

 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 listener.

©1984 Barbara Tuchman (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Civilisation Military World Middle Ages Imperialism Vietnam War Imperial Japan China War Self-Determination Ancient History Russia Government Socialism Latin America

Critic Reviews

"Among contemporary historians, Barbara Tuchman stands supreme." ( Times of London)
"Admirers of her earlier works will find Barbara Tuchman's familiar virtues on display. She is lucid, painstaking and highly intelligent. She is also highly expert." ( Sunday Times, London)
All stars
Most relevant  
Powerful cautionary story that well performed and researched offers cause to pause and think. Excellent and highly recommended

Thoughtful & thought provoking

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I enjoyed the depth of examination on the topic but was hoping there would be more than a handful of examples. Not bad though!

Good but not great

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Although written more than 30 years ago, Tuchman's analysis hasn't dated much, and the same principles of folly can be seen operating as strongly as ever today - the Iran and Afghanistan wars being the obvious and depressing examples. A couple of elements of the narration grated, however. The narrator seemed to feel she had to render quotations in the accent of the original speaker, yet the result was unconvincing and distracted from the content. Also, she has a bizarre and ultimately teeth-grating way of pronouncing "non-" as "none", thus reading "non-communist" as "none-communist", for example. A tiny point, but annoying as a grain of sand in your eye (at least to me!).

An interesting analysis of the nature of political folly throughout history.

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