Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August helped John F. Kennedy avoid nuclear war with the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The founder of Trader Joe's called it the best management book he's ever read. Acclaimed biographer Robert Caro was inspired by this book to write The Power Broker, which won a Pulitzer Prize. And it's one of my favorite nonfiction books: I've read it twice, and read 11 more books afterwards to chase down curiosities that came up while I was reading it.

This book made Barbara Tuchman a highly influential woman. Today I talk about what I learned from her about strategy, leadership, World War I, and good writing.