The Battle for Spain

  • Author Antony Beevor
  • Narrator Sean Barrett
  • Publisher Orion
  • Run Time 18 hours and 48 minutes
  • Format Audio
  • Genre History.
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What to expect

The civil war that tore Spain apart between 1936 and 1939 and attracted liberals and socialists from across the world to support the cause against Franco was one of the most hard-fought and bitterest conflicts of the 20th century: a war of atrocities and political genocide and a military testing ground before WWII for the Russians, Italians and Germans, whose Condor Legion so notoriously destroyed Guernica.

Antony Beevor's account narrates the origins of the Civil War and its violent and dramatic course from the coup d'etat in July 1936 through the savage fighting of the next three years which ended in catastrophic defeat for the Republicans in 1939. And he succeeds especially well in unravelling the complex political and regional forces that played such an important part in the origins and history of the war.

Read by Sean Barrett

(p) 2011 Isis Publishing Ltd

Critics Review

  • Fascination lies in the human drama, superbly captured by Beevor … a vivid chronicle of a dreadful time and place

    Sunday Times
  • In many ways it’s his most impressive book to date because he coolly makes sense of such a complicated story: the narrative sweep is consummate, the seamless use of so many sources masterful, and the eye for details makes it a superb read

    Mail on Sunday
  • An admirably clear-sighted account … a great achievement

    Daily Telegraph
  • A moving masterpiece of the indictment of war

    Times Literary Supplement
  • A gripping, revelatory account

    Sunday Telegraph
  • This is an enthralling book. The narrative is masterly, wonderfully clear as a guide through the labyrinth. It is even-tempered and full of good sense … It is admirable

    Literary Review

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