Book description
A brilliant portrait of the Spanish Civil War from our greatest
historian of Spain. 'Anyone interested in Spain will want this book.'
Alan Massie, Daily Telegraph
A bravura new interpretation of the course, causes and characters of
the Spanish Civil War, still the twentieth century's bloodiest internal
conflict. Analysis of the Civil War has always focused on victors and
vanquished, but what of those who eschewed the struggle, those who stood
apart from the carnage and chaos? Was there a Third Way? Starting at the
extreme right of the political spectrum and moving across it to the
extreme left, using the emblematic lives of ten key individuals, Preston
builds up an astonishingly vivid picture of how the War came to pass,
and how those who started, suffered and stopped it were coloured by the
experience. Here are brilliant psychological profiles of the communist
firebrand La Pasionaria, of the canny falangist Primo de Rivera, of the
aloof intellectual non-participant Salvador Madariaga, and of the enigma
himself, Generalissimo Franco.
'Comrades presents us with fascinating portraits, case studies that
illustrate variously nobility, arrogance, self-delusion and evil. It
remains difficult to comprhend the passions that lead to civil war; but
this book helps us to understand.' Michael Portillo, Sunday Telegraph
paul preston is Principe de Asturias Professor of Iberian History at the
LSE, and was head of the International History Department there for
several years. He is regarded as the leading historian of
twentieth-century Spain alive.
