Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
Author:
Genres: History, Politics & Social Sciences
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: History, Politics & Social Sciences
Book Type: Paperback
Leo T. reviewed on + 1775 more book reviews
I haven't seen the book, but it appears to be very thorough from listening to him flog his book on KPFK and KPFA at 10 A.M. today (Mitt Jesserich's show). He mentioned a Black American WWI vet was appointed to command the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (but he was KIA a few days later). There were 180 Black Americans serving in the International Brigade. Re: the USSR the author says that Stalin waited a couple of months to aid the Republicans as he had hopes that France and the UK would step up. Mr. Hoschchild also said the Republicans had a lot of gold on hand to buy armaments--I thought Spain was rather broke after losing New Spain and the Viceroyalty of Peru--they fought very hard against the revolutionaries as they needed the flow of silver and gold.
I obtained this to 'burn' a credit and will put it on the book truck tomorrow in the lobby of the VA Hospital where it will find an immediate reader (almost no non-fiction on offer). The author resides in Berkeley, California, and I don't think the Lincoln Brigade is as popular as he claims, at least during my lifetime here on the Coast. I had another book about them on the shelf at the old soldiers' home a few years ago with no takers.
In this book he aims at exploring the lives and motivations of Americans who served in Spain rather than offer a 'full history of the war.' The author has interviewed several family members but only two survivors at length. He was acquainted with two others on the SF Chronicle staff and met a couple of others. It is a mystery to me why he left speaking with veterans so late. While it is beyond the scope of this book, I don't know if he spoke with any Spaniards after the death of Generalissimo Franco, or visited Mexico (Pt. Lazaro Cardenas took in many Republicans), France, Germany, etc. to obtain primary source material.
I only had time to read one chapter (I chose the last for Hochschild's evaluations) but found it well written. I will enjoy another chapter on my trip to the VA Hospital tomorrow.
Sample from 'Kadish,' the last chapter. Hochschild agrees with other historians that the Spanish civil war was most valuable as a testing ground for weapons, supply chains, and tactics for the coming World War. I never knew exactly how helpful Spain was to the Axis during the war. "Although Franco never formally joined the Axis (Hitler wouldn't promise him the slice of France and the huge swath of Africa he wanted), he cooperated closely with the Fuhrer, granting important naval bases that far extended the range of the German U-boats. The port of Vigo, where Torkild Rieber's tankers had often unloaded, became a supply and fuel depot 21 Nazi submarines that raided Allied convoys in the North Atlantic, and German submarines refueled in Spanish Morocco and the Canary Islands as well. Spain also supplied Germany with crucial metals, such as the Tungsten used to harden both tank armor and armor-piercing shells, with radio listening stations, bases for reconnaissance aircraft, and outposts for observing maritime traffic in the Strait of Gibralter."
Detailed endnotes to trace sources, eleven maps, no illustrations, bibliography, and index.
I obtained this to 'burn' a credit and will put it on the book truck tomorrow in the lobby of the VA Hospital where it will find an immediate reader (almost no non-fiction on offer). The author resides in Berkeley, California, and I don't think the Lincoln Brigade is as popular as he claims, at least during my lifetime here on the Coast. I had another book about them on the shelf at the old soldiers' home a few years ago with no takers.
In this book he aims at exploring the lives and motivations of Americans who served in Spain rather than offer a 'full history of the war.' The author has interviewed several family members but only two survivors at length. He was acquainted with two others on the SF Chronicle staff and met a couple of others. It is a mystery to me why he left speaking with veterans so late. While it is beyond the scope of this book, I don't know if he spoke with any Spaniards after the death of Generalissimo Franco, or visited Mexico (Pt. Lazaro Cardenas took in many Republicans), France, Germany, etc. to obtain primary source material.
I only had time to read one chapter (I chose the last for Hochschild's evaluations) but found it well written. I will enjoy another chapter on my trip to the VA Hospital tomorrow.
Sample from 'Kadish,' the last chapter. Hochschild agrees with other historians that the Spanish civil war was most valuable as a testing ground for weapons, supply chains, and tactics for the coming World War. I never knew exactly how helpful Spain was to the Axis during the war. "Although Franco never formally joined the Axis (Hitler wouldn't promise him the slice of France and the huge swath of Africa he wanted), he cooperated closely with the Fuhrer, granting important naval bases that far extended the range of the German U-boats. The port of Vigo, where Torkild Rieber's tankers had often unloaded, became a supply and fuel depot 21 Nazi submarines that raided Allied convoys in the North Atlantic, and German submarines refueled in Spanish Morocco and the Canary Islands as well. Spain also supplied Germany with crucial metals, such as the Tungsten used to harden both tank armor and armor-piercing shells, with radio listening stations, bases for reconnaissance aircraft, and outposts for observing maritime traffic in the Strait of Gibralter."
Detailed endnotes to trace sources, eleven maps, no illustrations, bibliography, and index.
