The Spanish Civil War
A Very Short Introduction
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $13.75
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jonathan Davis
-
By:
-
Helen Graham
About this listen
Amid the many catastrophes of the 20th century, the Spanish Civil War continues to exert a particular fascination among history buffs and the layperson alike. This Very Short Introduction integrates the political, social, and cultural history of the Spanish Civil War. It sets out the domestic and international context of the war for a general audience. In addition to tracing the course of war, the book locates the war's origins in the cumulative social and cultural anxieties provoked by a process of rapid, uneven, and accelerating modernism taking place all over Europe. This shared context is key to the continued sense of the war's importance. The book also examines the myriad of political polemics to which the war has given rise, as well as all of the latest historical debates. It assesses the impact of the war on Spain's transition to democracy and on the country's contemporary political culture.
©2005 Helen Graham (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Battle for Spain
- The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Antony Beevor has written a completely updated and revised account of one of the most bitter and hard-fought wars of the 20th century. With new material gleaned from Russian archives and numerous other sources, this brisk and accessible audiobook (Spain's number-one best seller for 12 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.
-
-
Not an Accurate History Book
- By Jose on 10-16-19
By: Antony Beevor
-
The International Brigades
- Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War
- By: Giles Tremlett
- Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard
- Length: 23 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first major history of the International Brigades: a tale of blood, ideals and tragedy in the fight against fascism. The Spanish Civil War was the first armed battle in the fight against fascism, and a rallying cry for a generation. Over 35,000 volunteers from 61 countries around the world came to defend democracy against the troops of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini. Ill-equipped and disorderly, yet fuelled by a shared sense of purpose and potential glory, disparate groups of idealistic young men and women banded together to form a volunteer army.
-
-
Perplexing analysis
- By Joselo on 07-20-22
By: Giles Tremlett
-
Buddhism
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Damien Keown
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This very short introduction offers listeners a superb overview of the teachings of the Buddha, as well as a succinct guide to the integration of Buddhism into daily life.
-
-
Engage the services of a Very Short boatman
- By Darwin8u on 10-22-18
By: Damien Keown
-
Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- By: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
-
-
Oddball Translation
- By Joel Jenkins on 05-11-17
By: Homer, and others
-
Social and Cultural Anthropology
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Peter Just, John Monaghan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"If you want to know what anthropology is, look at what anthropologists do," write the authors of Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction. This engaging overview of the field combines an accessible account of some of the discipline's guiding principles and methodology with abundant examples and illustrations of anthropologists at work.
-
-
Good introduction with a dead voice
- By Jo on 10-22-24
By: Peter Just, and others
-
Wittgenstein
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: A. C. Grayling
- Narrated by: Kyle Munley
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an extraordinarily original thinker, whose influence on 20th-century thinking far outside the bounds of philosophy alone. In this engaging Introduction, A. C. Grayling makes Wittgenstein's thought accessible to the general listener by explaining the nature and impact of Wittgenstein's views. He describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein's continuing influence on contemporary thought.
-
-
Track -ta- toose?
- By sleight on 07-13-22
By: A. C. Grayling
-
The Battle for Spain
- The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Antony Beevor has written a completely updated and revised account of one of the most bitter and hard-fought wars of the 20th century. With new material gleaned from Russian archives and numerous other sources, this brisk and accessible audiobook (Spain's number-one best seller for 12 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.
-
-
Not an Accurate History Book
- By Jose on 10-16-19
By: Antony Beevor
-
The International Brigades
- Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War
- By: Giles Tremlett
- Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard
- Length: 23 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first major history of the International Brigades: a tale of blood, ideals and tragedy in the fight against fascism. The Spanish Civil War was the first armed battle in the fight against fascism, and a rallying cry for a generation. Over 35,000 volunteers from 61 countries around the world came to defend democracy against the troops of Franco, Hitler and Mussolini. Ill-equipped and disorderly, yet fuelled by a shared sense of purpose and potential glory, disparate groups of idealistic young men and women banded together to form a volunteer army.
-
-
Perplexing analysis
- By Joselo on 07-20-22
By: Giles Tremlett
-
Buddhism
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Damien Keown
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This very short introduction offers listeners a superb overview of the teachings of the Buddha, as well as a succinct guide to the integration of Buddhism into daily life.
-
-
Engage the services of a Very Short boatman
- By Darwin8u on 10-22-18
By: Damien Keown
-
Homer Box Set: Iliad & Odyssey
- By: Homer, W. H. D. Rouse - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
-
-
Oddball Translation
- By Joel Jenkins on 05-11-17
By: Homer, and others
-
Social and Cultural Anthropology
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Peter Just, John Monaghan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"If you want to know what anthropology is, look at what anthropologists do," write the authors of Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction. This engaging overview of the field combines an accessible account of some of the discipline's guiding principles and methodology with abundant examples and illustrations of anthropologists at work.
-
-
Good introduction with a dead voice
- By Jo on 10-22-24
By: Peter Just, and others
-
Wittgenstein
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: A. C. Grayling
- Narrated by: Kyle Munley
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an extraordinarily original thinker, whose influence on 20th-century thinking far outside the bounds of philosophy alone. In this engaging Introduction, A. C. Grayling makes Wittgenstein's thought accessible to the general listener by explaining the nature and impact of Wittgenstein's views. He describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein's continuing influence on contemporary thought.
-
-
Track -ta- toose?
- By sleight on 07-13-22
By: A. C. Grayling
-
The Canceling of the American Mind
- Cancel Culture Undermines Trust, Destroys Institutions, and Threatens Us All—but There Is a Solution
- By: Greg Lukianoff, Rikki Schlott
- Narrated by: Rikki Schlott, Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cancel culture is a new phenomenon, and The Canceling of the American Mind is the first book to codify it and survey its effects, including hard data and research on what cancel culture is and how it works, along with hundreds of new examples showing the left and right both working to silence their enemies.
-
-
Good book, Important information, poorly read
- By pj on 12-08-23
By: Greg Lukianoff, and others
-
Postmodernism
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Christopher Butler
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 4 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Postmodernism has become the buzzword of contemporary society over the last decade. But how can it be defined? In this highly engaging introduction, the mysteries of this most elusive of concepts are unraveled, casting a critical light upon the way we live now, from the politicizing of museum culture to the cult of the politically correct. The key postmodernist ideas are explored and challenged, as they figure in the theory, philosophy, politics, ethics, and artwork of the period, and it is shown how they have interacted within a postmodernist culture.
-
-
Misleading Title
- By nicholas on 01-06-23
-
American Colonies: The Settling of North America
- Penguin History of the United States, Book 1
- By: Alan Taylor
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the first volume in the Penguin History of the United States series, edited by Eric Foner, Alan Taylor challenges the traditional story of colonial history by examining the many cultures that helped make America, from the native inhabitants from millennia past through the decades of Western colonization and conquest and across the entire continent, all the way to the Pacific coast.
-
-
Excellent ..
- By aintbuyinit on 09-03-18
By: Alan Taylor
-
The Ancient Near East
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Amanda H. Podany
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 4 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ancient Near East is known as the "cradle of civilization" - and for good reason. Mesopotamia, Syria, and Anatolia were home to an extraordinarily rich and successful culture. Indeed, it was a time and place of earth-shaking changes for humankind: the beginnings of writing and law, kingship and bureaucracy, diplomacy and state-sponsored warfare, mathematics and literature. This Very Short Introduction audiobook offers a fascinating account of this momentous time in human history.
-
-
This Great Work Reveals Amanda Podany at her Best
- By Amadeu Macedo on 10-24-24
By: Amanda H. Podany
-
Existentialism
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Thomas Flynn
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the leading philosophical movements of the 20th century, existentialism has had more impact on literature and the arts than any other school of thought. Focusing on the leading figures of existentialism, including Sartre, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty, and Camus, Thomas Flynn offers a concise account of existentialism, explaining the key themes of individuality, free will, and personal responsibility, which marked the movement as a way of life, not just a way of thinking.
By: Thomas Flynn
-
The Guns of August
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, historian Barbara Tuchman brings to life the people and events that led up to World War I. This was the last gasp of the Gilded Age, of Kings and Kaisers and Czars, of pointed or plumed hats, colored uniforms, and all the pomp and romance that went along with war. How quickly it all changed...and how horrible it became.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Mike From Mesa on 10-28-08
-
Spanish Civil War
- A History from Beginning to End
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Stephen Paul Aulridge Jr
- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Spanish Civil War was much more than just an overture to World War II. It was a war born out of schisms in Spanish society between rich and poor, monarchists and Republicans, the right and the left, and between those who supported the church and those who saw it as an instrument of oppression. For all its brutality and horror, the Spanish Civil War was a conflict between ideals often fought by volunteers on each side who truly believed that they were helping to build a better world.
-
-
Only honest book I have found on the subject.
- By brendan f kelly on 05-18-21
By: Hourly History
-
A History of Fascism, 1914-1945
- By: Stanley G. Payne
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Focusing mostly on Italy and Germany but also considering Spain, Romania, Japan, and movements in other countries, Payne describes fascism as revolutionary ultranationalism based on national rebirth, extreme elitism, mass mobilization, and the promotion of violence and military virtues. He also suggests that the early Russian communists borrowed many techniques from fascism, and that though we are fairly well-inoculated against fascism itself, the values it represents could still emerge in new forms.
-
-
Dated lit review, ill-suited for audiobook
- By Keith on 11-24-19
By: Stanley G. Payne
-
Black Wave
- Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry that Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East
- By: Kim Ghattas
- Narrated by: Kim Ghattas, Nan McNamara
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With vivid story-telling, extensive historical research, and on-the-ground reporting, Ghattas dispels accepted truths about a region she calls home. She explores how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the region, became mortal enemies after 1979. She shows how they used and distorted religion in a competition that went well beyond geopolitics. Feeding intolerance, suppressing cultural expression, and encouraging sectarian violence from Egypt to Pakistan, the war for cultural supremacy led to many events.
-
-
Unveiling the darkness of the Middle East
- By Matty D on 02-18-20
By: Kim Ghattas
-
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945
- By: Tony Judt
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 43 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world’s most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through 34 nations and 60 years of political and cultural change—all in one integrated, enthralling narrative.
-
-
Great book, but not terrific listening
- By History on 10-18-11
By: Tony Judt
-
Islamic History
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Adam J. Silverstein
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 4 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Does history matter? This book argues not that history matters, but that Islamic history does. This very short introduction introduces the story of Islamic history; the controversies surrounding its study; and the significance that it holds - for Muslims and for non-Muslims alike. Opening with a lucid overview of the rise and spread of Islam, from the seventh to 21st century, the book charts the evolution of what was originally a small, localized community of believers into an international religion with over a billion adherents.
-
-
Not good as an audio book
- By andtomorrow on 02-08-20
-
The Fall of Berlin 1945
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Third Reich in January 1945. Frenzied by their terrible experiences with Wehrmacht and SS brutality, they wreaked havoc - tanks crushing refugee columns, mass rape, pillage, and unimaginable destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred; more than seven million fled westward from the fury of the Red Army. It was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known.
-
-
Engrossing
- By Salui on 09-06-16
By: Antony Beevor
Related to this topic
-
Pandora’s Box
- A History of the First World War
- By: Jorn Leonhard, Patrick Camiller - translator
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 39 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this monumental history of the First World War, Germany's leading historian of the 20th century's first great catastrophe explains the war's origins, course, and consequences. With an unrivaled combination of depth and global reach, Pandora's Box reveals how profoundly the war shaped the world to come. Jörn Leonhard treats the clash of arms with a sure feel for grand strategy, the everyday tactics of dynamic movement and slow attrition, the race for ever more destructive technologies, and the grim experiences of frontline soldiers.
-
-
Excellent reading of a complex book
- By chris on 02-26-19
By: Jorn Leonhard, and others
-
The Birth of Classical Europe
- A History from Troy to Augustine
- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
-
-
Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
-
Hitler's Europe Ablaze
- Occupation, Resistance, and Rebellion during World War II
- By: Ben H. Shepherd - editor, Phillip Cooke - editor
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Local resistance to German-led Axis occupation occurred throughout the European continent during World War II, taking a wide range of forms - noncooperation and disinformation, sabotage and espionage, and armed opposition and full-scale partisan warfare. It is a key element in the experience and the national memory of those who found themselves under Axis government and control.
-
-
Historically questionable.
- By Nestor Perez on 04-22-21
By: Ben H. Shepherd - editor, and others
-
The Vanquished
- Why the First World War Failed to End
- By: Robert Gerwarth
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Vanquished, a highly original and gripping work of history, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War. In large part it was not the fighting on the Western Front that proved so ruinous to Europe's future but the devastating aftermath, as countries on both sides of the original conflict were savaged by revolutions, pogroms, mass expulsions, and further major military clashes.
-
-
little-known period following WWI is illuminated
- By John on 02-16-17
By: Robert Gerwarth
-
The Third Reich in History and Memory
- By: Richard J. Evans
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 70 years since the demise of the Third Reich, there has been a significant transformation in the ways in which the modern world understands Nazism. In this brilliant and eye-opening collection, Richard J. Evans offers a critical commentary on that transformation, exploring how major changes in perspective have informed research and writing on the Third Reich in recent years. Drawing on his most notable writings, Evans reveals the shifting perspectives on Nazism's rise to political power, its economic intricacies, and its subterranean extension into postwar Germany.
-
-
each book is better than the first. your writing is genius
- By Anonymous User on 05-10-24
By: Richard J. Evans
-
Russia in Revolution
- An Empire in Crisis, 1890 to 1928
- By: S. A. Smith
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Russian Revolution of 1917 transformed the face of the Russian empire, politically, economically, socially, and culturally and also profoundly affected the course of world history for the rest of the 20th century. Historian S. A. Smith presents a panoramic account of the history of the Russian empire, from the last years of the 19th century, through the First World War and the revolutions of 1917 and the establishment of the Bolshevik regime, to the end of the 1920s.
-
-
Excellent centenary look at the complete revolutio
- By Privet on 09-13-18
By: S. A. Smith
-
Pandora’s Box
- A History of the First World War
- By: Jorn Leonhard, Patrick Camiller - translator
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 39 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this monumental history of the First World War, Germany's leading historian of the 20th century's first great catastrophe explains the war's origins, course, and consequences. With an unrivaled combination of depth and global reach, Pandora's Box reveals how profoundly the war shaped the world to come. Jörn Leonhard treats the clash of arms with a sure feel for grand strategy, the everyday tactics of dynamic movement and slow attrition, the race for ever more destructive technologies, and the grim experiences of frontline soldiers.
-
-
Excellent reading of a complex book
- By chris on 02-26-19
By: Jorn Leonhard, and others
-
The Birth of Classical Europe
- A History from Troy to Augustine
- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
-
-
Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
-
Hitler's Europe Ablaze
- Occupation, Resistance, and Rebellion during World War II
- By: Ben H. Shepherd - editor, Phillip Cooke - editor
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Local resistance to German-led Axis occupation occurred throughout the European continent during World War II, taking a wide range of forms - noncooperation and disinformation, sabotage and espionage, and armed opposition and full-scale partisan warfare. It is a key element in the experience and the national memory of those who found themselves under Axis government and control.
-
-
Historically questionable.
- By Nestor Perez on 04-22-21
By: Ben H. Shepherd - editor, and others
-
The Vanquished
- Why the First World War Failed to End
- By: Robert Gerwarth
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Vanquished, a highly original and gripping work of history, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War. In large part it was not the fighting on the Western Front that proved so ruinous to Europe's future but the devastating aftermath, as countries on both sides of the original conflict were savaged by revolutions, pogroms, mass expulsions, and further major military clashes.
-
-
little-known period following WWI is illuminated
- By John on 02-16-17
By: Robert Gerwarth
-
The Third Reich in History and Memory
- By: Richard J. Evans
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 70 years since the demise of the Third Reich, there has been a significant transformation in the ways in which the modern world understands Nazism. In this brilliant and eye-opening collection, Richard J. Evans offers a critical commentary on that transformation, exploring how major changes in perspective have informed research and writing on the Third Reich in recent years. Drawing on his most notable writings, Evans reveals the shifting perspectives on Nazism's rise to political power, its economic intricacies, and its subterranean extension into postwar Germany.
-
-
each book is better than the first. your writing is genius
- By Anonymous User on 05-10-24
By: Richard J. Evans
-
Russia in Revolution
- An Empire in Crisis, 1890 to 1928
- By: S. A. Smith
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Russian Revolution of 1917 transformed the face of the Russian empire, politically, economically, socially, and culturally and also profoundly affected the course of world history for the rest of the 20th century. Historian S. A. Smith presents a panoramic account of the history of the Russian empire, from the last years of the 19th century, through the First World War and the revolutions of 1917 and the establishment of the Bolshevik regime, to the end of the 1920s.
-
-
Excellent centenary look at the complete revolutio
- By Privet on 09-13-18
By: S. A. Smith
-
Black Earth
- The Holocaust as History and Warning
- By: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this epic history of extermination and survival, Timothy Snyder presents a new explanation of the great atrocity of the twentieth century, and reveals the risks that we face in the twenty-first. Based on untapped sources from eastern Europe and forgotten testimonies from Jewish survivors, Black Earth recounts the mass murder of the Jews as an event that is still close to us, more comprehensible than we would like to think and thus all the more terrifying.
-
-
Tough book but worth it!
- By Amazon customer on 11-20-15
By: Timothy Snyder
-
Russia in Flames
- War, Revolution, Civil War, 1914 - 1921
- By: Laura Engelstein
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 31 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
October 1917, heralded as the culmination of the Russian Revolution, remains a defining moment in world history. Even a hundred years after the events that led to the emergence of the world's first self-proclaimed socialist state, debate continues over whether, as historian E. H. Carr put it decades ago, these earth-shaking days were a "landmark in the emancipation of mankind from past oppression" or "a crime and a disaster."
-
-
Solid overview of events
- By Anonymous User on 06-27-19
By: Laura Engelstein
-
Modern Times
- The World from the Twenties to the Nineties
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 37 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beginning with May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein's theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of "Old Europe", the Arcadian 20s, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the '29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.
-
-
The Anti-Howard Zinn
- By Pork C. Fish on 05-22-12
By: Paul Johnson
-
Vietnam
- A New History
- By: Christopher Goscha
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 23 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Vietnam, Christopher Goscha tells the full history of Vietnam, from antiquity to the present day. Generations of emperors, rebels, priests, and colonizers left complicated legacies in this remarkable country. Periods of Chinese, French, and Japanese rule reshaped and modernized Vietnam, but so too did the colonial enterprises of the Vietnamese themselves as they extended their influence southward from the Red River Delta.
-
-
Not bad, but not great.
- By Kp on 08-06-18
-
They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else
- A History of the Armenian Genocide
- By: Ronald Grigor Suny
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Starting in early 1915, the Ottoman Turks began deporting and killing hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the first major genocide of the 20th century. By the end of the First World War, the number of Armenians in what would become Turkey had been reduced by 90 percent - more than 1,000,000 people. A century later, the Armenian genocide remains controversial but relatively unknown, overshadowed by later slaughters and the chasm separating Turkish and Armenian versions of events.
-
-
Great book, unbiased view finally
- By Raffy Afarian on 10-30-15
-
The Red Flag
- A History of Communism
- By: David Priestland
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 28 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Red Flag, Oxford professor David Priestland tells the epic story of a movement that has taken root in dozens of countries across 200 years, from its birth after the French Revolution to its ideological maturity in 19th-century Germany to its rise to dominance (and subsequent fall) in the 20th century.
-
-
Best History of Communism I Have Seen
- By David on 06-11-15
By: David Priestland
-
No Simple Victory
- World War II in Europe, 1939-1945
- By: Norman Davies
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 20 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If history really belongs to the victor, what happens when there's more than one side declaring victory? That's the conundrum Norman Davies unravels in his groundbreaking book No Simple Victory. Far from being a revisionist history, No Simple Victory instead offers a clear-eyed reappraisal, untangling and setting right the disparate claims made by America, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union in order to get at the startling truth.
-
-
The Best Account of WWII in Europe
- By Nikoli Gogol on 12-27-07
By: Norman Davies
-
The Story of Russia
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Story of Russia is about how the Russians defined themselves―and repeatedly reinvented such definitions along the way. Moving from Russia’s agrarian beginnings in the first millennium to subsequent periods of monarchy, totalitarianism, and perestroika, all the way up to Vladimir Putin and his use of myths of Russian history to bolster his regime, celebrated historian Orlando Figes examines the ideas that have guided the country’s actions.
-
-
Almost perfect…
- By Samantha Dispenzieri on 02-21-23
By: Orlando Figes
-
The Anatomy of Fascism
- By: Robert O. Paxton
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is fascism? By focusing on the concrete, what the fascists did rather than what they said, the esteemed historian Robert O. Paxton answers this question for the first time. From the first violent uniformed bands beating up "enemies of the state", through Mussolini's rise to power, to Germany's fascist radicalization in World War II, Paxton shows clearly why fascists came to power in some countries and not others.
-
-
Great book for getting a clearer idea of fascism
- By Amazon Customer on 11-02-17
By: Robert O. Paxton
-
The Long Shadow
- The Legacies of the Great War in the Twentieth Century
- By: David Reynolds
- Narrated by: John FitzGibbon
- Length: 19 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most violent conflicts in the history of civilization, World War I has been strangely forgotten in American culture. It has become a ghostly war fought in a haze of memory, often seen merely as a distant preamble to World War II. In The Long Shadow critically-acclaimed historian David Reynolds seeks to broaden our vision by assessing the impact of the Great War across the twentieth century. He shows how events in that turbulent century—particularly World War II, the Cold War, and the collapse of Communism—shaped and reshaped attitudes to 1914–18.
-
-
The World According to David Reynolds (feat. WWI)
- By Steve on 02-26-15
By: David Reynolds
-
The Gates of Europe
- A History of Ukraine
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ukraine is currently embroiled in a tense fight with Russia to preserve its territorial integrity and political independence. But today's conflict is only the latest in a long history of battles over Ukraine's territory and its existence as a sovereign nation. As the award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy argues in The Gates of Europe, we must examine Ukraine's past in order to understand its present and future.
-
-
An extraordinarily good book
- By Specs2789 on 03-01-23
By: Serhii Plokhy
-
Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War
- By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, Leila Al-Shami
- Narrated by: Fergus Nicoll
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Burning Country explores the complicated reality of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication, drawing on new first-hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists. Yassin-Kassab and Al-Shami expertly interweave these stories with an incisive analysis of the militarization of the uprising, the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of Syria’s government in exacerbating the brutalization of the conflict.
-
-
Definitive Account of the Syrian Revolution
- By Theo Horesh on 06-07-18
By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, and others
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The First World War
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Michael Howard
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known. This Very Short Introduction audiobook provides a concise and insightful history of the Great War - from the state of Europe in 1914, to the role of the US, the collapse of Russia, and the eventual surrender of the Central Powers.
-
-
A very quick synopsis
- By Anonymous User on 11-22-22
By: Michael Howard
-
The Battle for Spain
- The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Antony Beevor has written a completely updated and revised account of one of the most bitter and hard-fought wars of the 20th century. With new material gleaned from Russian archives and numerous other sources, this brisk and accessible audiobook (Spain's number-one best seller for 12 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.
-
-
Not an Accurate History Book
- By Jose on 10-16-19
By: Antony Beevor
-
The French Revolution
- A Very Short Introduction, 2nd Edition
- By: William Doyle
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The French Revolution is a time of history made familiar from Dickens, Baroness Orczy, and Tolstoy, as well as the legends of let them eat cake, and tricolors. Beginning in 1789, this period of extreme political and social unrest saw the end of the French monarchy, the death of an extraordinary number of people beneath the guillotine's blade during the Terror, and the rise of Napoleon, as well as far reaching consequences still with us today, such as the enduring ideology of human rights, and decimalization.
-
-
A Solid Overview - Good for the Uninitiated
- By The Lee Family on 07-07-23
By: William Doyle
-
World War II
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Gerhard L. Weinberg
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Very Short Introduction, Gerhard L. Weinberg provides an introduction to the origins, course, and impact of the war on those who fought and the ordinary citizens who lived through it. Starting by looking at the inter-war years and the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, he examines how the war progressed by examining a number of key events, including the war in the West in 1940, Barbarossa, the German Invasion of the Soviet Union, the expansion of Japan's war with China, developments on the home front, and the Allied victory from 1944-45.
-
-
Overdressed... and over here
- By Darwin8u on 03-12-19
-
Schopenhauer
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Christopher Janaway
- Narrated by: Kyle Munley
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Schopenhauer is considered to be the most accessible of German philosophers. This book gives a succinct explanation of his metaphysical system, concentrating on the original aspects of his thought, which inspired many artists and thinkers including Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and Wittgenstein. Schopenhauer's central notion is that of the will-a blind, irrational force that he uses to interpret both the human mind and the whole of nature.
-
-
am OK review
- By Arnulfo Perez on 01-25-23
-
The Maya
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Matthew Restall, Amara Solari
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Maya forged one of the greatest societies in the history of the ancient Americas and in all of human history. Long before contact with Europeans, Maya communities built spectacular cities with large, well-fed large populations. They mastered the visual arts, and developed a sophisticated writing system that recorded extraordinary knowledge in calendrics, mathematics, and astronomy. The Maya achieved all this without area-wide centralized control.
-
-
Pretty great, but a bit superficial.
- By Amazon Customer on 08-15-24
By: Matthew Restall, and others
-
The First World War
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Michael Howard
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known. This Very Short Introduction audiobook provides a concise and insightful history of the Great War - from the state of Europe in 1914, to the role of the US, the collapse of Russia, and the eventual surrender of the Central Powers.
-
-
A very quick synopsis
- By Anonymous User on 11-22-22
By: Michael Howard
-
The Battle for Spain
- The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
- By: Antony Beevor
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Antony Beevor has written a completely updated and revised account of one of the most bitter and hard-fought wars of the 20th century. With new material gleaned from Russian archives and numerous other sources, this brisk and accessible audiobook (Spain's number-one best seller for 12 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.
-
-
Not an Accurate History Book
- By Jose on 10-16-19
By: Antony Beevor
-
The French Revolution
- A Very Short Introduction, 2nd Edition
- By: William Doyle
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The French Revolution is a time of history made familiar from Dickens, Baroness Orczy, and Tolstoy, as well as the legends of let them eat cake, and tricolors. Beginning in 1789, this period of extreme political and social unrest saw the end of the French monarchy, the death of an extraordinary number of people beneath the guillotine's blade during the Terror, and the rise of Napoleon, as well as far reaching consequences still with us today, such as the enduring ideology of human rights, and decimalization.
-
-
A Solid Overview - Good for the Uninitiated
- By The Lee Family on 07-07-23
By: William Doyle
-
World War II
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Gerhard L. Weinberg
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 3 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Very Short Introduction, Gerhard L. Weinberg provides an introduction to the origins, course, and impact of the war on those who fought and the ordinary citizens who lived through it. Starting by looking at the inter-war years and the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, he examines how the war progressed by examining a number of key events, including the war in the West in 1940, Barbarossa, the German Invasion of the Soviet Union, the expansion of Japan's war with China, developments on the home front, and the Allied victory from 1944-45.
-
-
Overdressed... and over here
- By Darwin8u on 03-12-19
-
Schopenhauer
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Christopher Janaway
- Narrated by: Kyle Munley
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Schopenhauer is considered to be the most accessible of German philosophers. This book gives a succinct explanation of his metaphysical system, concentrating on the original aspects of his thought, which inspired many artists and thinkers including Nietzsche, Wagner, Freud, and Wittgenstein. Schopenhauer's central notion is that of the will-a blind, irrational force that he uses to interpret both the human mind and the whole of nature.
-
-
am OK review
- By Arnulfo Perez on 01-25-23
-
The Maya
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Matthew Restall, Amara Solari
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Maya forged one of the greatest societies in the history of the ancient Americas and in all of human history. Long before contact with Europeans, Maya communities built spectacular cities with large, well-fed large populations. They mastered the visual arts, and developed a sophisticated writing system that recorded extraordinary knowledge in calendrics, mathematics, and astronomy. The Maya achieved all this without area-wide centralized control.
-
-
Pretty great, but a bit superficial.
- By Amazon Customer on 08-15-24
By: Matthew Restall, and others
-
The Great Depression and the New Deal
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Eric Rauchway
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The New Deal shaped our nation's politics for decades, and was seen by many as tantamount to the "American Way" itself. Now, in this superb compact history, Eric Rauchway offers an informed account of the New Deal and the Great Depression, illuminating its successes and failures.
-
-
A quick comprehensive summary
- By Joan Cartmill on 02-21-22
By: Eric Rauchway
-
Fascism
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Kevin Passmore
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fascism is notoriously hard to define. How do we make sense of an ideology that appeals to streetfighters and intellectuals alike? That is overtly macho in style, yet attracts many women? That calls for a return to tradition while maintaining a fascination with technology? And that preaches violence in the name of an ordered society? In the new edition of this Very Short Introduction, Kevin Passmore brilliantly unravels the paradoxes of one of the most important phenomena in the modern world
-
-
Brings Clarity to a Resurging Topic
- By Fernanda Araujo on 03-24-20
By: Kevin Passmore
-
Philosophical Method
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Timothy Williamson
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Timothy Williamson tackles some of the key questions surrounding philosophy in new and provocative ways, showing how philosophy begins in common sense curiosity, and develops through our capacity to dispute rationally with each other. Discussing philosophy's ability to clarify our thoughts, he explains why such clarification depends on the development of philosophical theories, and how those theories can be tested by imaginative thought experiments, and compared against each other by standards similar to those used in the natural and social sciences.
-
-
Excellent what's philosophy intro
- By Matjaz Potrc on 10-05-20
-
The Roman Empire
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Christopher Kelly
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Roman Empire was a remarkable achievement. It had a population of 60 million people spread across lands encircling the Mediterranean and stretching from northern England to the sun-baked banks of the Euphrates, and from the Rhine to the North African coast. It was, above all else, an empire of force - employing a mixture of violence, suppression, order, and tactical use of power to develop an astonishingly uniform culture.
-
-
I love it
- By Amazon Customer on 08-23-21
-
The Russian Revolution
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: S.A. Smith
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This concise, accessible introduction provides an analytical narrative of the main events and developments in Soviet Russia between 1917 and 1936. It examines the impact of the revolution on society as a whole - on different classes, ethnic groups, the army, men and women, youth. Its central concern is to understand how one structure of domination was replaced by another. The book registers the primacy of politics, but situates political developments firmly in the context of massive economic, social, and cultural change.
By: S.A. Smith
-
The Crusades
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Christopher Tyerman
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Crusading fervor gripped Europe for over 200 years, creating one of the most extraordinary, vivid episodes in world history. Whether the Crusades are regarded as the most romantic of Christian expeditions, or the last of the barbarian invasions, they have fascinated generations ever since, and their legacy of ideas and imagery has resonated through the centuries, inspiring Hollywood movies and great works of literature. Even today, to invoke the Crusades is to stir deep cultural myths, assumptions and prejudices.
-
-
VSI # 140
- By Darwin8u on 10-29-24
-
Aristotle
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Jonathan Barnes
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 3 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The influence of Aristotle, the prince of philosophers, on the intellectual history of the West is second to none. In this book, Jonathan Barnes examines Aristotle's scientific researches, his discoveries in logic and his metaphysical theories, his work in psychology and in ethics and politics, and his ideas about art and poetry, placing his teachings in their historical context.
-
-
Great Book Moderate Storyteller
- By Brad on 08-23-24
By: Jonathan Barnes
-
Buddhism
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Damien Keown
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This very short introduction offers listeners a superb overview of the teachings of the Buddha, as well as a succinct guide to the integration of Buddhism into daily life.
-
-
Engage the services of a Very Short boatman
- By Darwin8u on 10-22-18
By: Damien Keown
-
Continental Philosophy
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Simon Critchley
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this enlightening Very Short Introduction, Simon Critchley shows us that Continental philosophy encompasses a distinct set of philosophical traditions and practices, with a compelling range of problems all too often ignored by the analytic tradition. He discusses the ideas and approaches of philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Habermas, Foucault, and Derrida. He also introduces key concepts such as existentialism, nihilism, and phenomonology, by explaining their place in the Continental tradition.
-
-
narrator and book 5 star
- By Wesley Bishop on 10-11-24
By: Simon Critchley
-
Plato
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Julia Annas
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 2 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This lively and accessible introduction to Plato focuses on the philosophy and argument of his writings, drawing the listener into Plato's way of doing philosophy, and the general themes of his thinking. It looks at Plato as a thinker grappling with philosophical problems in a variety of ways, rather than a philosopher with a fully worked-out system. It includes a brief account of Plato's life and the various interpretations that have been drawn from the sparse remains of information.
-
-
No Plato, lots of Feminism
- By Anonymous User on 12-29-22
By: Julia Annas
-
Colonial America
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Alan Taylor
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the last generation, historians have broadened our understanding of colonial America by adopting both a trans-Atlantic and a trans-continental perspective, examining the interplay of Europe, Africa, and the Americas through the flow of goods, people, plants, animals, capital, and ideas. In this Very Short Introduction, Alan Taylor presents an engaging overview of the best of this new scholarship.
-
-
Eye opening narrative
- By T.J. Dowling on 07-15-21
By: Alan Taylor
-
Nietzsche
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Michael Tanner
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With his well known idiosyncrasies and aphoristic style, Friedrich Nietzsche is always bracing and provocative, and temptingly easy to dip into. Michael Tanner's introduction to the philosopher's life and work examines the numerous ambiguities inherent in his writings and explodes many of the misconceptions that have grown in the hundred years since Nietzsche wrote "do not, above all, confound me with what I am not!"
-
-
Presumes way too much
- By Kim M. on 04-30-24
By: Michael Tanner
What listeners say about The Spanish Civil War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andor
- 10-28-23
Excellent short survey
Graham has done a fabulous job of pulling together the political, cultural and social history of a very complicated, heroic and tragic era in Spanish history. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for an introduction to the topic. I’m going to
Spain on a short trip and wanted a background. This is it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- drspinosaurus
- 10-03-23
An unbalanced history
Franco’s Spain clearly grew out of horror. It must have been a terrible place for the Republicans, and seems an impossible anachronistic dictatorship in the mid 20th century. This book is happy to point all of this out, as its sympathies clearly lie on the left. It does a poor job of showing the brutality of the left and the Republic in all its various schisms during this time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Bryce Despain
- 01-23-23
The Spanish Civil War
In short, I was required to read this for one of my Spanish Civil War course in college. At first, I didn’t really know what to expect because the book itself wasn’t very big, so I assumed it wouldn’t contain a lot of useful information. However, I was wrong! All 7 chapters of the book specifically highlight a certain part of the war, whether it was pre, during, or post wartime. Altogether, I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in history and to who wants to learn more about the war itself!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Julie Pollaro
- 05-24-24
Facism won
If you enjoy European history this is a book for you. I’m old enough to know that the Nazis helped Franco become dictator and that he ruled until the mid 1970’s.
Mussolini was also involved committing 75000 troops to help Franco. This was another case of France and England being so adverse to war they ignored what was going on in their own backyard. Having read about how terrible the Great War was I understand the reluctance of entering another country’s conflict. However that fear is exactly what dictators count on. Entering into war is not always correct as we experienced in Iraq , Afghanistan and Vietnam however sometimes it is the correct course as we can see now re the Korean War.
Franco was a facist who overthrew a democratic government and ruled for 35 years. It was an oppressive and ruthless regime which we along with the Europeans allowed to continue. Those who oppose helping Ukraine should read this book. It takes a long time to correct your mistakes once democracy disappears.
The author did a great job being concise and avoiding lengthy language to explain how events happened and why. It’s also a good example of how democratic bureaucracy sometimes gets in its own way.
Really good read, short and to the point.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paul
- 10-04-24
Not the Communists you’re looking for
Title says enough, but basically a very one-sided and simplistic approach. Particularly unfair to the Catholic Church. Presumes liberal-democracy productive of socialism and secularism as the exclusively, eternally, and universally valid form of polity. Agenda-driven, one-sided and bitter.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- brendan f kelly
- 05-26-21
As exciting as a Communist Party meeting...
Despite what decades of Communist propaganda (both popular and academic) have to say, the Spanish Civil War had no “good guys”. Every atrocity performed by Franco and his Fascist supporters was equaled or exceeded by the Republicans, the Leftist Militias, and the “International Brigades” on the other side. The “White Terror” may have been ultimately more effective than the “Red Terror” that proceeded and provoked it; but both were equally brutal, equally random, and equally evil. For every Guernica there is a Paracuellos. For every Lorca there is a Maetzu. The Republicans were NOT doomed romantic idealists, they were murderous Stalinists, Trotskyites and Anarchists; and they had as much (or more) innocent blood on their hands as the Francoists and Fascists that murdered them did. This was clear at the time, but the new materials that became accessible after the fall of the USSR removed any and all doubt about the issue. To state otherwise is simply factually inaccurate.
Given the above, you learn everything you need to know about this book when the author refers to “the mass political democracy” set in motion by “the Russian Revolution”.
Anyone who can claim with a straight face that the Russian Revolution was in any way, shape, or form, “democratic’ needs to go back to wherever they attended college and demand a refund. The author going on to describe the Spanish Civil War a “Authoritarian against Liberal Political Cultures” reveals a profound ignorance of the war, (and most likely an over exposure to Hemmingway). The Popular Front Government was a creature of the Third International. It executed Catholics simply for being Catholic, relied on the NKVD to provide internal stability, desecrated churches and monasteries, banned religious services, murdered its' political opponents (real and suspected), received Soviet political and military aid, and shipped the Spanish national gold reserves to the USSR. The Republicans were many things, but “Liberal” is not one of them.
Nonetheless, this book proclaims Stalin’s minions to be liberal democrats, and then descends into the sort of dull, dry, and predictable academic condescension normally seen only in a third-rate doctoral thesis. That this white wash of the Marxist Republicans also includes a healthy dose of academically required anti-Catholicism is hardly surprising. In fact, as far as I can tell, nothing about this book is surprising, or original, or even vaguely interesting. (That goes double if you’ve ever seen a pre 1990 issue of PRAVDA.)
The narrator has a wonderful voice, and does his heroic best; but the writing here is solidly in the “look how big my vocabulary is” school. ( I’m in MENSA and even I have never witnessed “disarticulation” being used in actual conversation.) This book has all the literary style of a high school term paper, albeit with less excitement and more “buzzwords”. Given such turgid prose there is only so much the poor man can do, but he does his best and goes down fighting.
If you want to learn about the Spanish Civil War, avoid this book and get Homage To Catalonia instead. Not only is it far better written; but Orwell, HAVING ACTUALLY BEEN THERE, had firsthand knowledge about the subject on which he writing. Despite Orwell’s first hand knowledge, Ms. Graham has no reluctance in condescendingly explaining how Orwell is wrong, misunderstood what he actually saw, “overestimated’ the Communist involvement, and that Orwell simply doesn’t know as much about this as she does. If nothing else, Ms. Graham certainly has chutzpah.
This book adheres so closely to the old Marxist Party Line, (with all the inherent falsehoods and intellectual shoddiness that requires), I had to repeatedly check to see that it actually was written after the collapse of the USSR, and was not just a regurgitation of old Pravda articles.
My advice is to avoid this book at all costs. I’ve already returned my copy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
17 people found this helpful