The Battle For Spain (the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939)

By (author) Beevor, Antony
Short description/annotation
The bestselling author of STALINGRAD and BERLIN: THE DOWNFALL on the Spanish Civil War, drawing on masses of newly discovered material from the Spanish, Russian and German archives.
Description

The bestselling author of STALINGRAD and BERLIN: THE DOWNFALL on the Spanish Civil War, drawing on masses of newly discovered material from the Spanish, Russian and German archives.

The civil war that tore Spain apart between 1936 and 1939 and attracted liberals and socialists from across the world to support the cause against Franco was one of the most hard-fought and bitterest conflicts of the 20th century: a war of atrocities and political genocide and a military testing ground before WWII for the Russians, Italians and Germans, whose Condor Legion so notoriously destroyed Guernica.

Antony Beevor''s account narrates the origins of the Civil War and its violent and dramatic course from the coup d''etat in July 1936 through the savage fighting of the next three years which ended in catastrophic defeat for the Republicans in 1939. And he succeeds especially well in unravelling the complex political and regional forces that played such an important part in the origins and history of the war.

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Fascination lies in the human drama, superbly captured by Beevor ... a vivid chronicle of a dreadful time and place
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In many ways it''s his most impressive book to date because he coolly makes sense of such a complicated story: the narrative sweep is consummate, the seamless use of so many sources masterful, and the eye for details makes it a superb read
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An admirably clear-sighted account ... a great achievement
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A moving masterpiece of the indictment of war
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A gripping, revelatory account
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This is an enthralling book. The narrative is masterly, wonderfully clear as a guide through the labyrinth. It is even-tempered and full of good sense ... It is admirable
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It is an admirably clear-sighted account. What Beevor does so well is to place the war in the context of Spanish history and world politics ... Beevor''s understanding of warfare and tactics is second to none ... This is a great achievement
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A very different book, which displays all Beevor''s exceptional narrative skills and literary flair. The story he tells is grimly familiar, but he presents it with a freshness, an eye for detail and a degree of detachment that makes this one of the best accounts to date of the Spanish crisis
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Antony Beevor''s revised history of the Civil War, which vividly anatomises a state and a society in the process of disintegration, is a tract for our times ... Above all, he has Beevorised the book, given it the richness of detail and the narrative drive that made Stalingrad such a success
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For the big picture of the war, all the more powerful for its blending of narrative intensity with emotional restraint, there is no rival to Antony Beevor''s masterly The Battle for Spain
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The Battle for Spain looks likely to become the standard account of the conflict for at least the next generation
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exhaustive and admirably clear account.
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the definitive book on the subject.
Biographical note
Antony Beevor''s books, include Stalingrad, Berlin, D-Day, The Battle for Spain and the Second World War. His work, which has received major prizes in this country and abroad, has appeared in thirty-three languages and sold more than eight and a half million copie