The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas

Another year has come and gone and it always seems that my goal with a new year is to increase my knowledge significantly. Well, that again is the goal this year but this time part of my plan is to refine things that I've already learned by rereading some of the better books in my collection. One subject I am currently going back to is the Spanish Civil War and the most fascinating book on that subject is The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas, a very large, very detailed and very thorough volume that I've read a couple of times before, although not for a number of years. I am rereading it again and, while a very complicated book, it will make one masterful on the subject.

The Civil War of Spain lasted from 1936-1939 and involved the Nationalists, led by a cabal of military officers and eventually primarily by Generalissimo Francisco Franco and the Republicans, who were made up of Communists and Anarchists and many other coalitions who were never totally unified. The complexities of the war consist of the fact that there were so many sides involved, each with their own agendas and ideologies. Also, the war became a practice ground of sorts for the looming Second World War. Hitler and Mussolini provided aid to the Nationalists and the Soviets and many other nations provided aid to the Republicans. Eventually after much bloodshed, the Franco forces came out victorious leading to a dictatorship that controlled the nation for the next four decades. The book is a very intense read but I would highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in those times.