Phoenix: The Spanish Cockpit: An Eyewitness Account of the Spanish Civil War

Rating:
Summary: Travels in Republican Spain.
Review: For those who have trouble with understanding the political divisions in Republican Spain, this is a great book. One can then understand the Republicans, Anarchists, POUM, Communists, and the Catalan parties because of Borkenau writings. For the vast majority of the general population, this read is very difficult. In addition, factor in Borkenau's leftist leanings, and you have a justification of all the attrocities of the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War. During that time, if you were a priest, factory owner or manager, or a significant landowner, the penalty was a firing squad. The author wants to impart on his readership that it was right to execute these people as well as tell how bad Franco's side was. My viewpoint was that neither side were angels, and one was as bad as the other. Only at the end when Borkenau was arrested by the Republican police did he start writing about the terrorism of the state. He should have been writing about it when the various political parties ransacked the churches and killed the priests. At least Franco did not pretend to be what he was not.

I would not recommend this book to the average reader. It is a difficult read with all the political discourse. I did learn a lot about the various political divisions in Republican Spain and in this case, the book was informative.

Rating:
Summary: Travels in Republican Spain.
Review: For those who have trouble with understanding the political divisions in Republican Spain, this is a great book. One can then understand the Republicans, Anarchists, POUM, Communists, and the Catalan parties because of Borkenau writings. For the vast majority of the general population, this read is very difficult. In addition, factor in Borkenau's leftist leanings, and you have a justification of all the attrocities of the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War. During that time, if you were a priest, factory owner or manager, or a significant landowner, the penalty was a firing squad. The author wants to impart on his readership that it was right to execute these people as well as tell how bad Franco's side was. My viewpoint was that neither side were angels, and one was as bad as the other. Only at the end when Borkenau was arrested by the Republican police did he start writing about the terrorism of the state. He should have been writing about it when the various political parties ransacked the churches and killed the priests. At least Franco did not pretend to be what he was not.

I would not recommend this book to the average reader. It is a difficult read with all the political discourse. I did learn a lot about the various political divisions in Republican Spain and in this case, the book was informative.