Text 1
Despite its beautiful prose, The Guns of August, Barbara Tuchman’s 1962 analysis of the start of World War I, has certain
weaknesses as a work of history. It fails to address events in Eastern Europe just before the outbreak of hostilities, thereby
giving the impression that Germany was the war’s principal instigator. Had Tuchman consulted secondary works available to
her by scholars such as Luigi Albertini, she would not have neglected the inﬂuence of events in Eastern Europe on Germany’s
actions.
 
Text 2
Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August is an engrossing if dated introduction to World War I. Tuchman’s analysis of primary
documents is laudable, but her main thesis that European powers committed themselves to a catastrophic outcome by
refusing to deviate from military plans developed prior to the conﬂict is implausibly reductive.
The author of Text 1 argues that Tuchman should have relied more on the work of other historians, while the author of
Text 2 implies that Tuchman’s most interesting claims result from her original research.
The author of Text 1 believes that the scope of Tuchman’s research led her to an incorrect interpretation, while the author
of Text 2 believes that Tuchman’s central argument is overly simplistic.
The author of Text 1 asserts that the writing style of The Guns of August makes it worthwhile to read despite any
perceived deﬁciency in Tuchman’s research, while the author of Text 2 focuses exclusively on the weakness of Tuchman’s
interpretation of events.
The author of Text 1 claims that Tuchman would agree that World War I was largely due to events in Eastern Europe,
Choice B is the best answer. Both texts are critical of The Guns of August, but for different reasons: the author of Text 1
argues that Tuchman missed an important factor leading up to the war because she didn’t consult secondary sources, and
the author of Text 2 argues that Tuchman’s main thesis is "reductive," which is a close synonym for "overly simplistic."
Choice A is incorrect. This doesn’t accurately describe the difference. This choice’s summary of Text 1 is accurate, but Text 2
never says that Tuchman’s most interesting claims result from her original research. Choice C is incorrect. This doesn’t
accurately describe the difference. Text 1 never says that The Guns of August is worthwhile to read despite its research