试论巴巴拉·塔奇曼历史写作的得与失——以《八月炮火》为中心的考察

Analysis on Pros and Cons of Babara Tuchman's Historical Writing: Taking The Guns of August as an Example

美国作家巴巴拉·塔奇曼的《八月炮火》,是一部曾获普利策奖的经典著作。该书以叙述性文体勾勒了一战初期的历史脉络,注重可读性和趣味性,注重历史的真实感与现场感。塔奇曼重视实证、关注细节、设计悬念,她对历史问题的思考可以给读者提供有益的借鉴和启示。然而她的写作也存有巨大局限,例如将可读性放在第一位,事件叙述并非完全客观。

The Guns of August, written by the American writer Barbara W. Tuchman, is a classic awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The book draws the outline of the development of the earliest stages of World War I in a narrative way. In the book, Tuchman focuses on the readability and interestingness, and reality and presence of history. She also attaches importance to empirical study, pays close attention to details, designs suspense, and her reflections on historical issues provide good reference and enlightenment for readers. However, there are large limitations in her writing. For example, she always places readability at the first place; therefore her narration is not as objective as the reality shows.