During the Spanish Civil War, Arturo and Ilsa Barea worked for the Republic's Press and Censorship office, operating from the Telefónica building in Madrid - the capital's first tower block, located in the Gran Vía, and notoriously the prime target for shellfire from Franco's insurgent army. After the civil war, Arturo and Ilsa sought refuge in the UK, where he broadcast weekly bulletins to Latin America for the BBC World Service. He also produced a trilogy of autobiographical novels, collectively known as The Forging of a Rebel, translated into English by Isla. Struggle for the Spanish Soul, an essay on contemporary Spain in which he asserted the imperative for the democracies of Europe to unseat Franco, was published in 1941. Spain in the Post-War World, published by the Fabian Society in 1945, made similar arguments, which also fell on deaf ears. Together, the two essays present a fascinating insight into why the Spanish Civil War was lost and a horrific picture of the early years of the dictatorship, which was to endure until Franco's death in 1975.

"Helen Graham highlights the domestic and international context of the Spanish Civil War, and reveals its origins in the political and cultural anxieties provoked by the rapid modernization of Europe. Using personal narratives, she combines a powerfully human account of the war an its aftermath with a disturbing ethical enquiry into its legacy for the 21st century."--BOOK JACKET.

Arturo Barea (1897-1957) is often seen as merely a spontaneous writer with a passion against injustice. In fact, he set out deliberately to write concretely and sensuously about himself in order to understand his mid-life nervous breakdown and about his generation as a way of explaining the underlying causes of the Spanish Civil War. With acute psychological insight, this self-taught boy from the slums, who left school at age 13, drew a unique portrait of Spanish society in the early 20th century. Barea's trilogy, The Forging of a Rebel was well received by George Orwell: "An excellent book...Senor Barea is one of the most valuable of the literary acquisitions that England has made as a result of Fascist persecution;" and from Gabriel Garcia Marquez: "One of the best novels written in Spanish." Barea is unusual in that he was one of the first Spanish working-class writers, one of the first autobiographers in Spain, and someone who published mainly in English even though all his attention was focused on Spain. In this groundbreaking biography, based on numerous interviews with people who knew Barea, author Michael Eaude revisits Barea's writing qualities and deficiencies in the context of stimulating intersections of literature and politics, and of Spain and England. He evaluates all Barea's major works, including: The Track, the story of Barea's time as a sergeant during the 1920s colonial war in Morocco * The Forge, the story of city and country, school and work, in the first years of the 20th century, told through the eyes of a child * The Clash, the story of Barea's experience as a censor during the Civil War * The Broken Root, his last novel, about exile and an imagined return to Madrid * and his short stories and essays. He also puts into perspective Barea's more than 800 talks for the BBC, and rebuts the slanders that Barea did not write his own books.

This updated edition traces Spain's history from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities.

The Spanish Civil War (1939-1939) was one of the bloodiest internecine conflicts of the modern era, resulting in a repressive and brutal military dictatorship which lasted for almost forty years. Starting with an account of the background to the wat, Sheelagh Ellwood traces the history of the Second Republic (1931-1936), culminating in the electoral victory of the Popular Front in 1936. The author then charts analyses the dramatic chain of events of the Civil War: the army uprising in Morocco in July 1936, the Nationalist advances in southern northwestern Spain, the protracted resistance of Catalonia and Madrid, and the final victory of Franco′s forces in the spring of 1939.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. A sweeping history of the Spanish Civil War, told through a dozen characters, including Hemingway and George Orwell: A tale of idealism, heartbreaking suffering, and a noble cause that failed. For three crucial years in the 1930s, the Spanish Civil War dominated headlines in America and around the world, as volunteers flooded to Spain to help its democratic government fight off a fascist uprising led by Francisco Franco and aided by Hitler and Mussolini. Today we're accustomed to remembering the war through Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls and Robert Capa’s photographs. But Adam Hochschild has discovered some less familiar yet far more compelling characters who reveal the full tragedy and importance of the war: a fiery nineteen-year-old Kentucky woman who went to wartime Spain on her honeymoon, a Swarthmore College senior who was the first American casualty in the battle for Madrid, a pair of fiercely partisan, rivalrous New York Times reporters who covered the war from opposites sides, and a swashbuckling Texas oilman with Nazi sympathies who sold Franco almost all his oil — at reduced prices, and on credit. It was in many ways the opening battle of World War II, and we still have much to learn from it. Spain in Our Hearts is Adam Hochschild at his very best. “With all due respect to Orwell, Spain in Our Hearts should supplant Homage to Catalonia as the best introduction to the conflict written in English. A humane and moving book."—New Republic “Excellent and involving . . . What makes [Hochschild’s] book so intimate and moving is its human scale.” — Dwight Garner, New York Times

A fresh and acclaimed account of the Spanish Civil War by the bestselling author of Stalingrad and The Battle of Arnhem To mark the 70th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War's outbreak, Antony Beevor has written a completely updated and revised account of one of the most bitter and hard-fought wars of the twentieth century. With new material gleaned from the Russian archives and numerous other sources, this brisk and accessible book (Spain's #1 bestseller for twelve weeks), provides a balanced and penetrating perspective, explaining the tensions that led to this terrible overture to World War II and affording new insights into the war-its causes, course, and consequences.

The second volume shines a light on the cultural and social changes that took place during the epoch of European Restorations, when the death of the Napoleonic empire existed as a crucial moment for contemporaries. Expanding the transnational approach of Volume I, the chapters focus on the transmutation of ordinary experiences of war into folklore and popular culture, the emergence of grassroots radical politics and conspiracies on the Left and Right, and the relationship between literacy and religion, with new cases included from Spain, Norway and Russia. A wide-ranging and impressive work, this book completes a collection on the history of the European Restorations.

Amid the shadows of war, one family faces an impossible choice that will change their lives forever. From bestseller Mario Escobar comes a 20th-century historical novel of sacrifice and resilience inspired by Spain’s famed Children of Morelia and the true events that shaped their lives. Madrid, 1934. Though the Spanish Civil War has not yet begun, the streets of Madrid have become dangerous for thirteen-year-old Marco Alcalde and his two younger sisters. Marco’s parents align themselves against the new fascist regime, unaware that their choice will endanger the entire family—nor do they predict the violence that is to come. In a desperate bid for safety, the Alcaldes join many other Spanish families in making an impossible choice to send their unaccompanied children across the ocean to the city of Morelia, Mexico—a place they’ve never seen or imagined, but whose government promises their children protection. Young Marco promises to look after his sisters in Mexico until their family can be reunited in Spain, but a harrowing journey ensues. As the growing children work to care for themselves and each other, they feel their sense of home, family, and identity slipping further and further away. As their memories of Spain fade, they begin to wonder if they will ever see their parents again or the glittering streets of the home they once loved. Based upon the true stories of the Children of Morelia, Mario Escobar’s Remember Me—now available for the first time in English—paints a poignant portrait of an immigrant family’s sacrificial love and endurance, detailing just how far we go for those we love. “Luminous and beautifully researched, Remember Me is a study of displacement, belonging, compassion, and forged family amid a heart- wrenching escape from the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War. Fans of Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Chanel Cleeton, and Lisa Wingate will be mesmerized.” —Rachel McMillan, author of The London Restoration Perfect for book clubs: Includes discussion questions, research notes from the author, and a historical timeline Based on real historical events: Full-length, 90,000-word historical novel based on the true stories of the Children of Morelia Researched and written by a subject-matter expert: Mario Escobar has a master's degree in modern history and lives in Madrid