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Barbara Tuchman

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Author

The Resume

    (January 20, 1912-February 6, 1989)
    Born in New York City, New York
    Birth name was Barbara Wertheim
    Historian
    Wrote 'The Guns of August' (1962), 'The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914' (1966), 'Stilwell and the American Experience in China' (1971), 'A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century' (1978) and 'The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam' (1984)

Why she might be annoying:

    She was hired as an editorial assistant at 'The Nation' -- right after her dad bought the magazine.
    She said about being a writer and a mom, 'I could never have done any of this work if I hadn't been able to afford domestic help.'
    She said of the 1980 presidential candidates, 'God! The country that produced George Washington has got this collection of crumb bums!' (One of those crumb bums would be named the 'greatest American.')

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was known for her lively narrative style, saying that in history, 'The writer's object should be to hold the reader's attention. I want the reader to turn the page and keep turning until the end.'
    She won two Pulitzer Prizes for General Non-Fiction (1963,1972).
    John F. Kennedy was so impressed with 'The Guns of August' that he gave copies to his cabinet and military advisors to read, and during the Cuban Missile Crisis, treated it as a 'what not to do' guide.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 11.11% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 13 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 18 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 61 Votes: 62.30% Annoying