Homage to Catalonia in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 26, 2020 Jim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, military-non-fiction

This offering from Orwell left me wondering, not for the first time, why anyone would put his life on the line to fight for Spain. In Orwell's case, not only did he risk his own neck, but he had his wife tag along. Misery loves company, as they say. Wisely, the missus stayed in the rear with the gear and wasn't exposed to any more danger than, say, a wild weekend in Chicago. Come to think on it, Orwell wasn't in much danger, either. The way he tells it, the Spaniards weren't particularly scrappy ...more

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Oct 02, 2008 Madeleine rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, bio-memoir

I learned a lot from this book, which is about Orwell's experiences as an international volunteer during the Spanish Civil War. He covers the internal politics of the various anti-fascist groups in great detail, which I found very interesting. And I'm going to Spain in a couple months, so it's good to know about this stuff.

Three stars rather than four or five because somehow I never lost my awareness of the fact that I was Learning Stuff. I read a ton on nonfiction, and my favorite books absorb ...more

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Aug 01, 2007 Kay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biogr-memoir, european-history-civ, nonfiction

George Orwell's account of his years as a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War. Filled with political analysis and vivid description. ...more

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Nov 26, 2022 Andy Plonka rated it really liked it

Shelves: src

Although I don't consider myself an authority on the Spanish Civil War reading this book taught me quite a lot in language I could easily understand. (Except for the various agencies that eacg side had). ...more

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