The Spanish Civil War : revolution and counterrevolution /

Bolloten (1909-1987), the United Press correspondent who covered the Spanish Civil War, was one of the preeminent scholars of this important conflict. Author of two previous works on this subject--The Grand Camouflage (London, 1961) and The Spanish Revolution (CH, Jul'79)--Bolloten in this work drew on a lifetime of knowledge and on his own extensive collection of primary materials to write an extraordinarily detailed and richly documented account of the political history of Spain's Republic government during the course of the war. Two themes are emphasized: the extent of the popular revolution unleashed by the military revolution of July 1936, and the struggle for political power among the various Republican factions that contributed to the growing influence of the Communist party. Although much has already been written on both of these subjects, this encyclopedic account is likely to remain definitive. The book's size and scope necessarily mean that it is for specialists, but general readers will appreciate Bolloten's readable style and adroit use of original sources. -R. L. Kagan, Johns Hopkins University