The International Brigades
Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War
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The International Brigades
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Narrated by:
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Laurence Bouvard
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By:
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Giles Tremlett
About this listen
'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
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What listeners say about The International Brigades
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR D H BRIGHT
- 10-10-23
Though Orwell's understanding is misrepresented
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.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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- J. H. Furse
- 13-07-22
Narrator dreadful.
Really hard to listen to. I get it to stress italics or quotes some ofemphasis required but spaces either side
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Tim
- 16-08-21
Excellent
As I have said above this is excellent. I cannot find fault with it anywhere, but it’s only the first of many readings.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- ed
- 03-01-21
Balanced and gripping account of those who fought
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
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. Jc Traverse-healy
- 23-03-22
Narrator?
A good history hard to listen to because of the narrator. The tone is almost jaunty and most off putting.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 25-05-24
A detailed historical analysis
Well researched, well read, A highly recommended book for anyone who wants a better understanding of the International Brigades.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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- Denis
- 27-02-22
More collection of vignettes than coherent narrati
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. S. A. Dominguez
- 24-07-21
Very good
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!!
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Аmazon Customer
- 30-01-21
An inspiring book
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.
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2 people found this helpful