What book did President Kennedy turn to during the Cuban Missile Crisis to avoid global catastrophe? This one. Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August is the electrifying account of the first month of World War I, a period of catastrophic blunders that led millions to their doom. It masterfully details how a peaceful continent was plunged into war by rigid military schedules and political posturing. This essential, Pulitzer Prize-winning read is a timeless warning about the tragic momentum of conflict and the folly of leaders who sleepwalk into disaster.