The Guns of August Gives Lively Insights into the Causes of WWI

A leader in the financial industry based in the Chicago area, Paul Liska has worked with companies such as Bushnell Corporation, Hunter Fan, and several private equity firms in New York. In his leisure time, Paul Liska enjoys reading books such as The Guns of August: The Outbreak of World War I.

A winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a title in the Great War Series by Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August traces the events leading up to the World War I in the summer of 1914. The book has also earned a place on the list of 100 Best Nonfiction Books from the Modern Library.

Unlike the work of academic historians, The Guns of August focuses less on dry facts and more on important figures, along with what they did, said, and felt. Beginning with important events such as the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, it delves into the complicated factors that wove together alliances and long-held grudges to spark world-wide conflict.

The book covers the period up until the first days of the war. It concludes on the brink of the First Battle of the Marne, which took place in September of 1914.

Published: The Proud Tower — Critical Historical Changes Leading to WWI

I published “The Proud Tower — Critical Historical Changes Leading to WWI” on @Medium https://ift.tt/2WeSTZ7

Wintrust - Committed to Local Communities

Paul Liska is a private investor who served in senior leadership roles with some of the biggest public companies in the United States. Paul Liska is also a member of the board of directors of 11 public companies, including Wintrust Financial Corporation.

Wintrust opened its first location in 1991 in a northern suburb of Chicago with an overarching goal of providing financial services (different from the big banks) to the community. Today, the Rosemont, Illinois-based company is in over 175 locations, providing commercial and personal banking services to communities across Chicago, northwestern Indiana, and southern Wisconsin.

The company organizes community events, provides financial education services, and hosts neighborhood cookouts. It also supports its communities by collaborating with local organizations, sponsoring local events, and sitting on local boards.

Wintrust has assets totaling over $36 billion. In April 2020, the company stated that its platform for the Paycheck Protection Program from the US Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration, to help businesses affected by the COVID 19 pandemic, received loan inquires from over 7,700 small business totaling over $3.1 billion. Wintrust proudly noted that over 50 percent of the PPP inquiries were so far for loans below $100,000, which indicates the loans would go to local small businesses as intended.