Adam Hochschild

A sweeping history of the Spanish Civil War, told through nine American and British characters including Hemingway and George Orwell. It was a war between fascism, communism, and democracy that preceeded World War II, and atale of idealism and a noble cause that failed."

Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

Spain in Our Hearts

Andrew John Kinney

Excellent history of the Spanish Civil War, which raged from 1936-38, told through the lens of the experiences of multiple Americans who were involved in the war. The Lincoln Brigade of brave American volunteers is foremost in the story, but the author brings in the stories of the journalists, famous (Hemingway, Gelhorn), and unknown, as well as George Orwell, whose Homage to Catalonia is a wonderful piece of literature about the war. My opinion of Hemingway improved after reading this book; Gelhorn said of him, it was the only time in his life when Hemingway did not come first in Hemingway's priorities. Briefly, he cared more about Republican Spain than himself. As compared to Homage to Catalonia, Hochschild has the benefit of 80 years of perspective, and he does a better job than Orwell did (or could have done, so close in time to the event) explaining the factions involved, the external players from Hitler to Texaco, and the American and European politics that were in play.

While I would always recommend Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, if nothing else as great literature and a passionate first-hand account, Spain in Our Hearts gives the broader picture. Hochschild reminds me of Lynne Olsen in style and readability, which is high praise. It is still shocking, 80 years on, how the Western democracies abandoned legitimately elected governments in Spain, Czechoslovakia, and Austria to their fates at the hands of Hitler, and by the way, America was absolutely complicit in that abandonment. That democracy, human rights, and rule of law must always be fought for is the lesson learned, and the book puts me in mind of a certain current president who has no regard for democracy and rule of law, and of the general lack of outrage his attitude has engendered. But I am in danger of running afoul of Godwin's law, so I'll stop there.

Spain in Our Hearts Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

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