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The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 |  | Author: Antony Beevor
Publisher: Phoenix
Category: Book
List Price: £12.99
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Seller: smeikalbooks
Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 5316
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 648
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 2
ISBN: 0753821656
EAN: 9780753821657
ASIN: 0753821656
Publication Date: May 24, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Product 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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
Enlightenment April 12, 2010
J. C. Harvey (Glasgow)
Like the warring parties Antony Beevor takes no prisioners as he exposes the ambition, folly and callous disregard for human life during and after this war. It is as well written as a chronicle of events on such a subject can be with excellent maps and glossaries to refer to when the tangle of initials gets too much for the reader.
Prepare to be depressed by the sheer waste of so many lives, the naivety and folly of many who fought and the self serving attitude of UK and USA who did more for the facists than they would for the legitimate government of Spain. There are certainly no heros amongst the leaders on either side in this account but it should be read by anyone who wants to see what shaped twentieth century Europe.
 Excellent January 22, 2010
M (Barcelona, Catalonia)
This is an excellent comprehensive account of the Spanish Civil War. The conflict is studied from the political and military point of view and complete personal and psychological portraits of the main caracthers involved are also provided, Anthony Beevor makes a good job in avoiding oversimplification of this complex conflict and also provides a good historical background to understand the political and social circumstances in Spain at that time, including still not solved today Catalan issue, and also to understand how the two sides far from being homogeneous were in reality a conglomerate of different groups with often opposed interests, just united because of hatred of the bigger enemy. A work of reference.
A complex history compellingly told January 13, 2010
Jeremy Persaud (Essex)
The history of Spain has always been an incredibly complex one - As a nation state it has always been held together very tentatively. The peace has invariably been a fragile one - with seventeen autonmous regions proudly asserting their notional independence from Madrid, it is hardly conducive to unity.
But that has always been the problem with Spain, in some ways similiar to Italy's modern history with its various factions and regions pulling against each other. And it is with this back drop that Antony Beevor compiles a stunningly detailed account of the Spanish Civil War. No stone is left unturned in this investigation. Not only are all the key players handled with a depth and clarity that reveals Beevor at his very best, but the wealth of material researched is masterfully untangled from the mess of a war that the protaganists barely understood themselves.
It wasn't merely a case of Nationalists vs Republicans, but the many other factions that went under those banners - all pulling against each other, all seeking their own private glories at the expense of the national good.
Failure to act as a united force is what ultimately cost the Republic, every defeat - fuelled by crippling paranoia much like the Inqusition - was blamed on traitors, invariably from another faction within the Republican coalition. A house divided can never stand, and so it proved. With Hitler and Mussolini providing weapons, vehicles and Troops it was only a matter of time before the Republic fell - with only Stalin and the International Brigades to help - America, Britain and France all took a non - interventionist stance, refusing to send aid to what was ultimately a communist cause. This demurral by the Allied powers to help poses one of histories most compelling hypotheticals - if they had helped Spain defeat Franco and the Axis powers, would the Second World War have ever happened?
Beevor leaves us to ponder this and a War that was so convoluted - that even today it is not completely understood, but Beevor's The Battle for Spain, is an excellent place to start.
A great read December 28, 2009
Mr. C. W. Cheetham (Spain)
This book is a really detailed look at the Spanish Civil War but it is never so academic that it becomes boring. It paints a picture of a real mismatch between the Republic, under armed and riven by factionalism but generally with good ideals, and the Nationalists, well armed supported by the Fascists dictators of Germany, Italy and Portugal with a single minded if deeply unpleasant leader. (Sorry if my prejudices show). Being currently in Spain and having travelled around it is fascinating to read the events of 70 years ago and tie it to the places you can see today. I am truly amazed that Spaniards dont revile Franco in the way we revile Hitler because we have met some who want him back! Memory is so fickle.
Essential reading alongside "Homage to Catalonia".
Excellent November 17, 2009
R. Fowkes (Kettering, England)
What more can be added to the rave reviews of this book? Especially telling are the Spanish reviews quoted inside the cover. Objective, well written, excellent. I especially appreciate, as here, good maps.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
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