Customer Reviews

The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution, and Revenge (Revised and Expanded Edition)

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This very well written book is a fine overview and analysis of the Spanish Civil War. Still a controversial subject, despite the passage of decades, this is an evenhanded account. This is not, however, a conventional narrative history. While Preston provides the basic narrative, this is more a chronologically arranged series of essays on crucial aspects of the Civil War. To get the most out of Preston's analysis, it is very useful to know the basic features of the Civil War. I recommend reading Antony Beevor's narrative history first and then follow it with this book. The advantage of Preston's approach is that he explores a series of key issues in considerable depth. The relevant background of Spanish history and the structural features of Spanish society that created the potential for the war are described well. Preston has a very nice chapter on the history of the Second Republic which preceded the war and the specific events that led to the coup attempt that triggered the war. Chapters follow that deal with the international aspects of the war, the complex internal politics of both the Republican and Nationalist sides, the nature of combat, and the aftermath of the war. Particularly important themes are Franco's use of the war as an instrument to consolidate power, his pursuit of a state purged of liberal-leftist elements, the importance of Italian and German interventions, and the disorder of the Republican side.

In addition to the excellent text, the book has a couple of other nice features to ease readibility. It includes a decent list of important figures and a useful glossary of acronyms. Preston includes a very nice annotated bibliography as a guide into the literature.

I have read several books on the Spanish Civil War. What I enjoy most about this book is that it is engaging and it is more than just a dry recounting of the facts. It gives the background and the causes and shows how the war evolved in a very open objective way, citing some of the problems on both sides that made the confrontation inevitable. I highly recommend this book if you want to understand what this conflict and how it evolved.

Paul Preston is one of the world's foremost historians of Spanish history, so his focus THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR: REACTION, REVOLUTION, AND REVENGE is an essential acquisition for any military history library, appearing in a revised, expanded paperback to recount the major milestones and struggles of the era. It's a classic work and deserves a place not only in specialty military history collections, but in any general lending library strong in Spanish history and culture.

The book provides a good background to the desperate conditions prevailing in Spain in the 1930s. The sequence of events also is presented in an understandable manner. The acronyms of the many factions does require frequently checking the glossary, but at least there is a glossary. Although the author says that the republican persecution of the Catholic Church was a mistake, the main reason he objects to it is that it cost them the support of devout peasants. The approximately 6800 priests and nuns murdered are a secondary concern. The book is useful for facts, but the interpretation of the facts is written with an agenda.

Exactly what I was looking for as an American with limited knowledge into the Spanish Civil War. I feel I have gained a perspective that allows me to realize why this conflict still continues to divide Spaniards to this day.

`The Spanish Civil War' is a well researched and scholarly account of this often overlooked, but contentious conflict. The first hundred pages of this book are the driest to read which doesn't bode well initially, but with perseverance it quickly become more engaging and interesting to read. The first part of the book explores the setting and lead up to the war and is necessary to fully appreciate what comes afterwards. The atrocities of the war are shocking to read and whilst the conflict is complex to fully understand, this book goes some way to clarifying it. This book is mildly biased in favour of the republicans, but not only is the acknowledged in the introduction, it is to be expected when you realise how despised Franco has become and the atrocities he committed. There are two middle plate sections with various photos of the conflict and whilst they are not especially relevant to some of the text, they do set the scene very well. This falls down by not explaining some of Franco's involvement in WW2 which would be interesting considering the Civil war ended in 1939 and he was supported by Mussolini and Hitler. There is also scant mention of how he died and the immediate repercussions, although the latter aspect is touched upon very briefly. Overall though this is an interesting account of the conflict and despite the slow start makes for an informative and engaging read.

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Alan Massie wrote of Preston that he "knows more about the Spanish Civil War than any other Englishman; more, even, than those who fought it."

If you are interested in understanding why many consider the Spanish Civil War to be 'the first modern war' , and if you interested in reading about the war that represented the 20th century's first major existential struggle between all the leading ideologies of the period, then Preston's book is no less than essential reading.

Preston skillfully describes the clashes between the aims and objectives of anarchism, fascism, communism, socialism, capitalism, materialism, imperialism, elitism and racism as well as outlining the collisions between hegemonic strategies and the development of class consciousness, in a part of Europe still struggling to come to terms with the shattering effects of the Industrial Revolution and the remnants of a serf, land-owner and master relationship between the people.

Preston has done a masterful job here, demystifying, carefully analysing and assessing the sometimes bewildering array of diverse political groupings,( CNT, POUM,Stalinist, extreme anarchist, Durutti's forces, Trotksy-ite, conservative Catholic, Phalange, North African mercenary etc) and he manages to do so in an even handed, fair,unemotional,detached, scholarly and unbiased manner. Many histories of the period are slanted and biased towards the communist resistance, or they idealise the anarchist resistance, or they offer a conservative-traditionalist nostalgic whitewashed view of the war. Preston however, takes no sides, and he tells us of the successes, failures and brutalities of all the diverse factions, in a spare and unadorned prose style.

Preston has written a masterful text, which is unlikely to be bettered any time soon, and he has received praise and respect from a number of academic journals and other highly regarded historians (such as Ian Kershaw)

Especially essential here is Preston's addition of a thirty page essay on his bibliographical sources - whatever your particular area of sympathy in the conflict ( anarchist, conservative, fascist, traditionalist, socialist) then you will find a lengthy description of all the texts that Preston considers worthwhile.

Preston's text also offers outstanding analysis of war strategy and cunning, and will be of great interest to followers of neo realist historians such as Mearsheimer, Waltz, and Morgenthau.

Like Eric Hobsbawm and Raul Hilberg, Preston writes beautifully, with a meticulous attention to detail and with an unadorned narrative and prose style -- I can't recommend his book highly enough.

Preston's book is a concise, and readable history of the Spanish Civil War. His focus is not on the battlefields, but on the leadership struggles and the political environment on both sides. He does an excellent job of meeting the challenge of making the mind-numbing complexity of the various factions, parties, unions, and alliances understandable.

This reviewer was struck with the importance of understanding the Spanish Civil War as the preface for World War II, at least in the European theatre. The role of British appeasement, the ambilance of the Bolsheviks toward Hitler and fascism in 1940, and the attitude of the Vatican are just some of the issues that Preston brings into much clearer focus.

Preston does not lead the reader into over simplistic conclusions despite his admission of a bias toward the Republic. Rather, one is left with a deeper understanding of the Civil War, and a raft of uneasy questions on what would have happened if certain events had turned out differently.

The book arrived in a timely fashion. It was in great condition. I cannot rate the actual book as it is a gift that was requested by my friend.