The Spanish Civil War
Hugh Thomas's The Spanish Civil War, a masterwork of the historian's craft, continues to be the greatest, most engaging account of one of the most famous and misunderstood wars of the twentieth century. This "definitive work on the subject" (Richard Bernstein, The New York Times) has been given a new look forty years after it was first published in 1961. It has been revised and updated with significant new material, including new revelations about atrocities committed against civilians by both sides in this epic conflict. Thomas examines a horrific fight in which the ambitions, dreams, and dogmas of a century erupted onto the battlefield in beautiful, emotional detail.
The Spanish Civil War dramatises the events that caused a European nation to split against itself in a continent on the verge of war, bringing into play the plots of Franco and Hitler, the carnage of Guernica, and the profoundly moving bravery of those who stood up for democracy. This account of the conflict is unlike any other. Communists, anarchists, monarchists, fascists, socialists, and democratic parties were just a few of the elements that made up the Spanish Civil War. Thomas expertly weaves these varied and fascinating strands into a cohesive whole that has made the book a true masterpiece of modern history.
