A review by wshier
The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 by Antony Beevor

2.0

Take the advice of other reviewers and read Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia" instead. This was extremely difficult. I would like to forgive the author because of the notoriously complex politics of the war. But, that is not a legitimate excuse. Orwell managed to sum it up nicely. This was way, way, way too into the details (or the weeds). I wondered, "For whom is this book written?" I had a decent understanding of the war when I began and felt overwhelmed. It almost assumes that you have a graduate student (or even professorial) level of understanding to start. But, if you already have that level of knowledge, you really don't need to read this book.