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The International Brigades

Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War

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The International Brigades

By: Giles Tremlett
Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard
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About this listen

 Bloomsbury presents The International Brigades by Giles Tremlett, read by Laurence Bouvard.

'Magnificent. Narrative history at its vivid and compelling best' Fergal Keane

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 sixty-one 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 of a size and kind unseen since the Crusades, known as the International Brigades. These passionate liberal fighters – from across Europe, China, Africa and the Americas – would join the Republican cause, fighting for over two years on the bloody battlegrounds of Madrid, Jarama and Ebro.

Were they heroes or fools? Saints or bloodthirsty adventurers? And what exactly did they achieve?

This is a story rendered vivid in the writings of Orwell and Hemingway, the paintings of Picasso and the photographs of Taro and Capa. But here, in this magisterial history, award-winning historian Giles Tremlett tells – for the first time – the story of the Spanish Civil War through the experiences of this remarkable group of people. Drawing on the Brigades' extensive archives in Moscow, Comintern documents and first-hand accounts, Tremlett captures all the human drama of an historic mission to halt fascist expansion in Europe.

A fascinating history of resistance, The International Brigades shows just how far ordinary people will go to save democracy against overwhelming odds in a tale of European solidarity that resonates just as strongly today.©2020 Giles Tremlett (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 20th Century Europe Military Modern Spain War Interwar Period Imperialism Middle ages Africa English Civil War

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Not just a gushing "we love being anti fascist and here are some perfect anti fascists can't we be like them", far from that, it paints a consistently true picture of the bridgades, some were good some were bad. This is not the book for debating "well surely there were some good or bad Francists" that's not this book's focus: it is about the brigades.

Homage to Catalonia was written before the war was even over, should have pointed that out. So saying he had a poor overview of the war, even though he himself admitted it, is only fair because he hadn't seen the end of it yet.

Though Orwell's understanding is misrepresented

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Really hard to listen to. I get it to stress italics or quotes some ofemphasis required but spaces either side

Narrator dreadful.

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As I have said above this is excellent. I cannot find fault with it anywhere, but it’s only the first of many readings.

Excellent

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Only downside to listening as an audiobook is you really need a map. Nicely read and well paced. The accounts of the men and women are a combination of all human emotion. Suitable for those dipping their toes into 20th century history or those more familiar with Spain and the world of the '30s

Balanced and gripping account of those who fought

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A good history hard to listen to because of the narrator. The tone is almost jaunty and most off putting.

Narrator?

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Well researched, well read, A highly recommended book for anyone who wants a better understanding of the International Brigades.

A detailed historical analysis

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More of a collection of interesting vignettes than a coherent narrative. Worth reading/listening if you're into the Spanish civil war but a bit all over the place to be honest.

More collection of vignettes than coherent narrati

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My great grandfather continued to fight Francis's facisists until 1942 in the mountains of Galicia. I just wanted to know what it was like and this book provided a really good guide to what it was like. Thank you!!

Very good

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I really enjoyed the focus on some of the individual battles that are written about in this book. The trials and tribulations of some of the volunteers are fascinating to hear and of course the way in which the international community abandoned the republic was a disgrace and this is highlighted once again here. I really enjoyed learning about the post conflict influence of the volunteers as well. It’s not something I knew and it was very interesting to hear.

An inspiring book

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