Vermont’s Peter Gilbert on Books that Changed History

“In February 1962, Barbara Tuchman’s compelling narrative history of the beginning of World War I was published. Entitled ‘The Guns of August,’ it tells how all of Europe was drawn into a war that no one wanted.

“As Meredith Hindley explains in the most recent edition of Humanities magazine, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, gave President Kennedy a copy. Fortunately, the President read it. Because as George Santayana famously said, ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’”

In a recent commentary on Vermont Public Radio, Peter Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont Humanities Council, reflected on how the reading of books may change history.

To access M. Gilbert’s complete commentary, please visit:

Vermont Public Radio: Gilbert: Books that Changed History (12 OCT 12)