The gold reserves of the Bank of Spain were sent to Moscow and were drawn upon against deliveries of guns and airplanes. Source: Purchased. I can only assume the many people who rate it highly went into it with an already good knowledge of the people and events of the Spanish Civil War. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published The reader will lose track of the many factions killing one another in the late 1930s Spain and the reasons why. The most interesting aspect of the war was as a competition between the right and left in European and global politics. The battle for Spain : the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 by Beevor, Antony, 1946-; Beevor, Antony, 1946- Spanish Civil War There is much to praise here -- but still, it left me unsatisfied. You have cold calculating dictators, idealists who would not negotiate with the ways of the real world, and revolutionary zealots on all sides. [Audio book] A masterpiece of history on this depressing subject. And what an eye-opener it is. So many factions, so many events, all occurring at the same time that any book that attempts to do them justice would be monolithic (such as Hugh Thomas' definitive tome). Why not? Although the book is harrowing, given the human tragedy, the fact that Juan Carlos, hand-picked by Franco to rule as a royal dictator, moved the country rapidly towards full democracy, provides a profoundly satisfying conclusion. But a tough read. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 – Antony Beevor. The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939: Beevor, Antony, Barrett, Sean: Amazon.com.au: Books I say "must be" because this is the first one that I have read in its entirety (up to now, I had only read the first volume of Hugh Thomas' book, which was good, but left me a bit cold, to be honest) so I don't think I would be fair if I said that it is the best and most balanced, in spite of having read reviews in the Spanish press that point in that direction. I … Since then, a great deal of new material about the war has become available, some of it from Spain, now that Franco is long gone, and much of it from … It's a marvelously clear, though overly concise, account of some of the key events and for this reason will be an excellent starting point for anyone new to the subject and a good refresher for those who already know some of it. While Beevor's 'Battle for Spain' isn't perfect, I give this book five stars because the mix is just right. The battle for Spain: The Spanish civil war 1936-1939 - Anthony Beevor Anthony Beevor's definitive history of the Spanish civil war. Even Antony Beevor Can't Simplify Such a Complicated Topic ... An excellent analysis of a conflict in which the Spanish people are the filling in a sandwich, the slices comprising a fight between the extreme right and extreme left. It doesn't. Welcome back. Today Spain is a great success, and to this I can only say Viva Espana! Piers Brendon's books include The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s, Antony Beevor's The Battle for Spain, a revamped discussion of the Spanish civil war, succeeds brilliantly, says Piers Brendon, Buy The Battle for Spain at the Guardian bookshop. Because I was intimidated by the complexity of the political events in Spain during the 1930s I'd put off reading it. Both the Axis Powers and the Soviets under the iron hand of Stalin experimented with their new weapons from airplanes to artillery. The Battle for Spain, by Anthony Beevor, is a reworking of The Spanish Civil War, a book he first published in 1982. While one might expect a historian of the Second World War to treat the Spanish conflict as a prologue to that larger and deadlier global struggle, Beevor sees that the civil war had great significance in its own right. As such, take this review with that in mind since I didn't gut through it. I've had this book 5 or 6 years. The idea was to use all the research carried out so painstakingly by It doesn't really explain why things happened they way they did. Like the bitter conflict in Iraq today, the Spanish civil war was pathologically vicious. Well, seven chapters (80 pages) in, I have to acknowledge that I find Beevor's book pretty much unreadable. As it turned out, the competition between Fascism and Communism--the Nationalists and Republicans in Spain--wasn't even a very close thing. 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. I must say that of all the books that I have read by Beevor this one is most lacking in clarity and impact. While one might expect a historian of the Second World War to treat the Spanish conflict as a prologue to that larger and deadlier global struggle, Beevor sees that the civil war had great significance in its own right. A typical sentence: Reading Beevor's account of the Spanish civil war is a bit like Hasting's history of the Vietnam war: you basically know the story line, but it's amazing how much there's still to learn. 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. Someone looking for a current book on the Spanish civil war. Largo Caballero is a poor man's Kerensky, whereas Negrín is a would-be Stalin. There is much to praise here -- but still, it left me unsatisfied. A fresh and acclaimed account of the Spanish Civil War by the bestselling author of Stalingrad and The Fall Of Berlin 1945. And I think this has to do with the hidden, unasked questions that a more sociologically-minded author would make explicit. Not to talk about the role of France and the United Kingdom, which did their best not to interfere and by doing so, ended up to taking sides. Antony Beevor is probably best-known today for his lengthy histories of the battles of Stalingrad and Berlin, but this earlier narrative of the Spanish Civil War matches both of these later works for grim and gripping detail. Stalin steals Spain's gold reserves. 0 Ratings 0 Want to read; 0 Currently reading; 0 Have read; This edition was published in Jan 01, 2009 by imusti, Phoenix — 586 pages This edition doesn't have a description yet. 321 reviews. But towards the second half of the book it got easier to read. I read the English edition of this book which I understand is an abridged version of the original that was published in Spanish. Buy The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 by Beevor, Antony online on Amazon.ae at best prices. I could continue by commenting, how certain views of the world, like libertarian thought, constitute a poor basis for a success in extended conflict, but perhaps it is best everybody finds it out for themselves by reading the book. Beevor does a good job in that regard. Azaña is decent but weak. 526pp., index, notes, bibliography, black and white photographs. June 1st 2006 He studied under the famous historian of World War II, John Keegan. The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Many years ago--1967--I read the Hugh Thomas history of the Spanish Civil War and had gotten lost in the mazes and Babel of parties right, center, and left, each accompanied by its own acronym and ideology. The 1930's is a not a good era to look for the best of humanities achievements, and the Spanish civil war is near the nadir of that. What a depressingly confusing and unmitigated mess human history can be. This game represents Four Battles of the Spanish Civil War, battles of Ebro, Teruel, Guadalajara and Merida or La Serena. Beevor makes all this clear, and his account is comprehensive, full. I've had this book 5 or 6 years. It's akin to watching a train heading into the abyss, you know where it's going, you wanted it to change for the better and the rational part of you knows that it wasn't going to happen. I would have loved to give the book more than two stars, but the narrative advances in a roughly cronological order, and after a while it becomes very difficult to keep track on innumerable actors that the author churns up, and their role in the events. Price - 650. Also the events are descibed in such a detail that the reader is constantly verging on not seeing the forest for the trees. Foreign ideologues of the left and right still argue about the meaning of the Spanish Civil War, but Spaniards themselves have only just begun to confront its bitterly-divisive history. I'd realized this in a general way and had always understood the war as a proving ground for the equipment and military doctrines being tested for use in the wider war all of Europe knew was coming. Abridged books often seem longer than the full versions because the author's argument gets mangled as the text gets cut. A fresh and acclaimed account of the Spanish Civil War by the bestselling author of Stalingrad and The Battle of Arnhem. And for one of the most disputed wars in modern history, that is a major accomplishment. Be the first to ask a question about The Battle for Spain. We’d love your help. AbeBooks.com: THE BATTLE FOR SPAIN; THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-1939: Penguin, c2006. Many years ago--1967--I read the Hugh Thomas history of the Spanish Civil War and had gotten lost in the mazes and Babel of parties right, center, and left, each accompanied by its own acronym and ideology. The wartime atrocities were terrible on both sides, but of course only one side emerged as a winner, and it appears there was not much room for compassion. Beevor struggles against the mountain of detail but still manages to provide a decent retelling of the events, but without the heart that embodied Spain of that time. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. 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