Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Barbara W. Tuchman, author of the
World War I masterpiece The Guns of August, grapples with her boldest
subject: the pervasive presence, through the ages, of failure,
mismanagement, and delusion in government.
Drawing on a comprehensive array of examples, from Montezuma's senseless
surrender of his empire in 1520 to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor,
Barbara W. Tuchman defines folly as the pursuit by government of
policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of
feasible alternatives. In brilliant detail, Tuchman illuminates four
decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of
folly: 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' own persistent mistakes in Vietnam.
Throughout The March of Folly, Tuchman's incomparable talent for
animating the people, places, and events of history is on spectacular
display.
Praise for The March of Folly
"A glittering narrative . . . a moral [book] on the crimes and follies
of governments and the misfortunes the governed suffer in
consequence."--The New York Times Book Review
"An admirable survey . . . I haven't read a more relevant book in
years."--John Kenneth Galbraith, The Boston Sunday Globe
"A superb chronicle . . . a masterly examination."--Chicago
Sun-Times
