Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939

Its the mid thirties, the United States was struggling to emerge from the Great Depression under FDR, Stalin was in power in the Soviet Union and Mussolini in Italy who had once again invaded Ethiopia. Hitler was busy consolidating his power in Germany and building a formidable military machine, just a few years away from invading Czechoslovakia and beginning WWII . Against this grim backdrop, a glimmer of hope for mankind---Spain elects a new government under President Caballero and adopts as its mission the betterment of the lives of its citizens who for years had been mired in poverty and hopelessness. Like never before the people of Spain had a say in their government. There was an explosion of euphoria in Spain shared in large part by the people of the world who saw Spain as a beacon in a sea of darkness. People world-wide held their breath and watched as the new government embarked on their great social experiment--land distribution and programs for the poor. Heretofore power had been in the hands of the military and the majority of the county's land and wealth held by less than 1 % of the populace. To help pay for these programs the military budget had to be reduced. The military was outraged. Enter General Franco and the Civil war was on. The Nationalists under Franco vs the Republicans under the new duly elected government of the people. Supporting the Nationalists--Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, the Catholic Church (who participated in executions and book burnings), America's Texaco Oil Company (without whose oil the Republic might have prevailed) and America's Hearst Newspaper chain.Supporting the Republic-- Cardena's Mexico, Stalin's Soviet Union, the Republic's citizen army, George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway who fought alongside the Republicans and idealists and dreamers everywhere. Forty thousand men and women from more than 50 countries rushed to the aid of the Republic among them several thousand from America who formed the Abraham Brigade. In all there were five International brigades made up of men and women ready to lay down their lives for the Spanish people.It was a lost cause for the Spanish people. Despite the fact that large segments of their populace pleaded for their government's intervention the governments of the United States, Great Britain and France stood by and watched as Spain burned beneath German air power and the fascist Italian ground troops. Soon after the entire world was at war with the Germans and Italians. Perhaps it could all have been avoided had the Allies stepped in to defend Spain.Years ago I had the privilege of attending one of the last annual get togethers and dinners of the surviving members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. At that time there were only a handful still alive and recently I read where the last survivor had passed away. These volunteers were the best of humankind. As Che Guevara once said "To be a revolutionary requires great love for ones people."Hochschild's book is a masterpiece--so well written, so encompassing, so well researched. After reading it I felt as if I had lived it. Being an idealist myself it is likely I would have joined the Lincoln Brigade had the timing been right. I admire the men and women of the world that rushed to the side of the Spanish people and I do not think a book could better capture the drama, the history, the hardship, the sacrifice, and the tragedy than "Spain in our Hearts".This story was summed up before Hochschild even began it when in the Prologue he quoted the great novelist Albert Camus who said "Men of my generation have had Spain in their hearts...It was there that they learned....that one can be right and yet be beaten, that force can vanquish spirit, and that there are times when courage is not rewarded."

Other reviews paint Hochschild as a Leftist, which certainly isn't me. And occasionally, as I read, I surmised he wasn't of my tribe. BUT--he is, subject to my one minor criticism below, a fine writer, telling a fascinating story of the practice war for WW II. And perhaps it is a story that can best be told by a Left-leaning author who might well, back in the mid-30's, have been tempted to join in the forces of right and honor. Only to discover, as did so many of those who made the arduous journey to Spain, that there is seldom a right or a wrong in a war; that the merits, if any, of one's cause are usually irrelevant if the other side has more and better arms; and that decisions by foreign powers about how much of their manpower and weaponry should be dedicated to what was happening in Spain are unlikely to take into account the needs of their proxies risking their lives there.To me, this is the real story of this horrible war--that somehow a brutal dictatorship in a backward country could become the shining light on the hill luring some otherwise intelligent people to a fight about which, they learned, they really knew nothing; and that this dream was then shattered by the reality of bullets and bombs, and the obvious indifference of the Russians to these misguided souls. How did they feel, when, having struggled to reach Spain and join the fray, it quickly became apparent that they were on the losing side, but couldn't get out of the war nearly as easily as they got in it.SO--an excellent read, with this reservation: I came to the story with little knowledge of ithe Spanish revolution.. I learned that there were "Republicans," and there were "Nationalists,." To my constant confusion, the Nationalists, whom I kept thinking must be the government folk, were the revolutionaries, and they were basically proxies for Germany and Italy. The Republicans, on the other hand, were the forces of the government, but, again to my surprise, they were the darlings of the left and of the Russians. That's tough enough, but Hochschild wasn't able to find a single word that always meant "government) or "revolutionary"--I had to keep remembering the various names by which each was called.Which if, as they, is the worst I can offer, that really isn't too bad. And it wasn't, but it made the redsing a little bumpier for me. Otherwise I was thoroughly pleased with the book.AMD, subject to that one nittlint comment5, I felt the fook was a reaqlly worthwhile read. I learned a lolt, not jus aout the specifics of this Warl but the horrors of all wars for those fighting them, especially when it suddenly appears to warriors on one side or the other than they are going to down in defeat.

This is a very well written book about famous Americans that were part of the spanish civil war. This was a gift and was highly appreciated! I would recommend buying this for any history buff.

Regalo para mi hijo que es profesor de historia y muy enteresado en el tema de la guerra civil. No lo tenia y dice que es muy interesante.

Excelente sintesis del conflicto con interesantes aportaciones de las vivencias personales de un puñado de norteamericanos

Spain in Our Hearts gave an excellent description and historical analysis of the factors leading to the Spanish Civil War. In provided insight into the external factors affecting the Spanish population and the events leading to the greater European war. I've read a few Adam Hochschild books and I've never been disappointed.

Me encanta este libro por los datos históricos que aporta. Desconocía el interés de los norteamericanos por la Guerra Civil Española.