Franco: A Biography [Hardcover]

Paul Preston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1994

To many, Generalissimo Francisco Franco was Spain incarnate. This is a definitive portrait of the complex, elusive man credited with saving Spain from both the communists and Hitler, modernizing the country, and orchestrating the Spanish economic miracle of the 1960s. 32 photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Preston's definitive, gripping biography of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, "the least known of the great dictators of the twentieth century," penetrates the wall of secrecy, propaganda and myths surrounding the fascist demagogue. A brutal tyrant who silenced his opponents with imprisonment, torture and executions and thereby paralyzed the masses with fear, Franco (1892-1975) hid behind a series of masks-desert hero commanding the Spanish Legion in Morocco; modern El Cid during the Civil War, defending the Catholic faith and restoring Spain's national greatness; benevolent patriarch. Moreover, Franco, a cunning politician of startlingly mediocre intellect, deeply believed in these personas, often denied he was a dictator, and ascribed domestic working-class and left-liberal opposition to the machinations of foreign Communist or Masonic elements. Professor of international history at the London School of Economics, Preston demolishes claims by admirers and apologists that the generalissimo skillfully held off Hitler to preserve Spain's neutrality; instead, he shows that Hitler's unwillingness to promise France's colonies to Spain led to a stalemate between the two dictators. By the late 1950s, Preston maintains, Franco was increasingly a figurehead who reluctantly acquiesced in Spain's technocratic turn to capitalism. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Generalissimo Franco (1892-1975) ruled Spain with an iron hand for nearly 40 years. Now, almost two decades after his death, Preston (international history, London Sch. of Economics) has assembled a vast amount of material in this marvelously researched, abundantly detailed-and very readable-story of the dictator's life. Preston refrains from fanciful speculation, documenting his assertions with 131 pages of notes. Franco early on developed his vision of the army's central role in determining Spain's future and of his own unquestioned right of command. He was convinced of his messianic mission in saving Spain from "the reds"; his successes were largely a result of his cunning and a series of lucky breaks at critical moments throughout his career. Only with Franco's death did the merciless Nationalist victory of 1939 become, at long last, a true Spanish peace. Highly recommended for all readers.
Charles E. Perry, East Central Univ., Ada, Okla.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1024 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1St Edition edition (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465025153
• ISBN-13: 978-0465025152
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #848,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit Repetitive But Novel Biography of Franco, March 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Franco: A Biography (Hardcover)

Most reviews of Paul PReston's Franco appear to focus on the tedium of the biography which definitely qualifies as a modern day tome. I must agree that the Preston's work was indeed repitive in that in the seven hundred plus pages only a few points were made. Of course that implies that every point was amply suppourted. Beyond the above mentioned tedium there is some real charm in Preston's biography. Preston creates a novel image of one of the most misunderstood figures in the history of this century. I thought that Preston's analysis of the man was indeed brilliant taking the reader beyond Guernica. He delves into the mind of Franco proving how much he was shaped by his formative experience in Morocco. Preston also shatters the myth that Franco was the dictator to complete the European facist trinity. He points out that to define Franco it is far easier to define him by what he is against as opposed to what he is for. Franco was not a man of strong political ideologies, rather a man with strong convictions in his millitary sense which reppelled Communism and freemasonry. I must admit that Preston painted a rather intimate portrait of Franco, and despite the fact that it is often tangential, it did endear Franco, a bit, to my heart. Preston was able to present him as a man of uniform and a man for a government which like his family ought to be paternalistic.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most interesting biographies I have read, February 21, 2005

By 

Steve McGarrett (Houston, TX, USA, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Local Group, ??) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Franco: A Biography (Hardcover)

This is a long, detailed book, but I found it to be excellent. The kinds of biographies I like are ones that bring the historical period alive by showing a view of the world and how the person interacted with it. This book really fit the bill because Franco is not a major historical player. So, the story of World War II from the perspective of Spain (not in the war) was interesting. WWII is always about the active participants. To see how Franco dilly dallied around with Hitler and Mussolini and survived the war to ally with the US was not something I had been exposed to before.

Some of the other reviews indicate that the book is biased. I would say that the author has a view (as he should), but I did not find it to be a distraction. Like one of the other reviewers, I ended up with some empathy for Franco. Spain was in a tough spot and all the interventions from outside weren't much help. So, there is some necessity to what happened (not that it's good). I somewhat came away with a view that Franco was a dull, unimaginative man who did some quite dumb things. But, unlike a Hitler, Stalin, or Mao, Franco was not completely destructive of his own society. Once dead, people seemed to be ready to be normal and pretty much have been so.

The size of the book is intimidating if you are not used to reading detailed biographies. I didn't find it to be a problem. Where some reviewers indicate that certain points are repeated over and over, I see that as the author has a high-level story to tell and the story makes the detail meaningful and easier to understand. As a counter-example, William Duiker's biography of Ho Chi Minh is one where the story gets lost in the detail (facts, names, events, but no theme). So, I give Paul Preston great credit.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read to understand Spain and the Spaniards, April 21, 2003

By 

Maarten (TX) "Maarten" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Franco: A Biography (Hardcover)

This is a classic and describes a period of Spain's history that has formed post-Franco culture to an important level. Paul Preston has written a very detailed book about this period, well researched and documented; it also reads well and even though most of the readers will know how the story ends (this is what defines 'history')it maintains the tension even when re-reading after some time. The most recent book (I believe only written in Spanish so far) about Don Juan Carlos (king of Spain) is equally impressive. To both books, however, there is one thing I missed: the deeper psychological background to the key players. Why did they do what they did? Why was Franco able to 'hang on' for so long, how was Juan Carlos able to live under one regime and then change to a democracy (doing what I would call a 'Gorbachov': growing up in the system, getting powerful in the system and then defeating the same system). I am looking forward to have those aspects covered by Mr Preston one day.