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Spain's Civil War : The Last Great Cause
Examines the causes, events, and aftermath of the three-year struggle between the opposing forces in the Spanish Civil War.
180 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1975
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April 7, 2025
One of my all-time favorite books. I read this after becoming a history nut in high school loving to learn about WWII and the Cold War and this spoke to me. I have often read about the Spanish Civil War seen as a prelude to WWII and was curious as to how it played out.
Seeing WWII as an epic film franchise, with the Spanish Civil War as a prequel I was ready and eager to read this. Before reading this I had often read of how Fascist Spain's rise was as diabolical as the Nazis. As an American, I was happy to cheer on the democratic Spanish Republic against the militant Fascist regime of Francisco Franco. But it was after having finished a quarter of this book did I have serious doubts. I have to admit, what made this book so good was that though written by a writer that was ready and eager to promote the accepted viewpoint that Fascism is bad I used my values and thinking to view it differently. When a person wants to force their ethos on the public with a medium but it backfires is known as a boomerang. I have never encountered a book that became a boomerang before and make no mistake this boomeranged on me. The author wanted to present all the facts of the horrors of the Spanish Civil War using horrible examples committed by both sides despite all of that had expected me to favor the Republic but I all but turned sympathetic to Franco.
People extoll the virtues of liberal democracy but I see its flaws and maybe it does sound tyrannical but liberal democracy can be just as tyrannical as one person with all the power. Look upon China and the Former Soviet Union as examples of tyrannies of the proletariat. While I wouldn't wish tyranny to happen to my country, I could never support something so heinously liberal. I would have supported Franco's Spain.
Still, the writer presents facts and the horrors of both sides despite his own misguided opinion. I can't help but enjoy reading this, particularly for his sentimental disappointment over the downfall of the Spanish Republic. Una! Grande! Libre! Arriba Espana!
A.
Seeing WWII as an epic film franchise, with the Spanish Civil War as a prequel I was ready and eager to read this. Before reading this I had often read of how Fascist Spain's rise was as diabolical as the Nazis. As an American, I was happy to cheer on the democratic Spanish Republic against the militant Fascist regime of Francisco Franco. But it was after having finished a quarter of this book did I have serious doubts. I have to admit, what made this book so good was that though written by a writer that was ready and eager to promote the accepted viewpoint that Fascism is bad I used my values and thinking to view it differently. When a person wants to force their ethos on the public with a medium but it backfires is known as a boomerang. I have never encountered a book that became a boomerang before and make no mistake this boomeranged on me. The author wanted to present all the facts of the horrors of the Spanish Civil War using horrible examples committed by both sides despite all of that had expected me to favor the Republic but I all but turned sympathetic to Franco.
People extoll the virtues of liberal democracy but I see its flaws and maybe it does sound tyrannical but liberal democracy can be just as tyrannical as one person with all the power. Look upon China and the Former Soviet Union as examples of tyrannies of the proletariat. While I wouldn't wish tyranny to happen to my country, I could never support something so heinously liberal. I would have supported Franco's Spain.
Still, the writer presents facts and the horrors of both sides despite his own misguided opinion. I can't help but enjoy reading this, particularly for his sentimental disappointment over the downfall of the Spanish Republic. Una! Grande! Libre! Arriba Espana!
A.
Displaying 1 of 1 review