'Julián Casanova is one of the most original and exciting historians currently working on the Spanish Civil War. His books on anarchism, the Catholic Church and the Francoist repression have earned him a glowing international reputation. This short history draws on his own research and combines his trademark reliability and readability in a book that students and general readers alike will find invaluable.'

Paul Preston, Príncipe de Asturias Professor of Contemporary Spanish History, London School of Economics, UK

'Julián Casanova is one of the most productive of the current generation of Spanish intellectuals who are determined that democracy and human rights, now better established than in any previous period of Spanish history, will become the habitual and accepted framework of Spanish public life. He shows clearly how the political shortcomings of the Republic, the enthusiasm of Mussolini and Hitler to aid General Franco, the Stalinist mixture of military aid with secretive political interference in the life of the Republic, and the failure of the Western democracies to aid the Republic, all combined to assure the military victory and postwar dictatorship of Franco. This is an excellently written and very carefully documented history of the Civil War of 1936-39.'

Gabriel Jackson, Professor Emeritus of History, University of California, San Diego, USA

'Julián Casanova is one of Spain s leading historians. His innovative and ground-breaking research on the Spanish Civil War and its long aftermath has also garnered him an international reputation, and in this Short History he distils his rich knowledge and insight into a readable synthesis. Casanova explains the deep domestic origins of the Spanish war, while also placing it in its proper European context of convulsive continental change from First to Second World Wars. Students and general readers alike will find his book informative, enlightening and thought-provoking in equal measure.'

Helen Graham, Professor of Modern Spanish History, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

'Exemplary... a considerable achievement.'

The Scotsman

In a crowded field, there is a place for the insights of the distinguished Spanish historian Julian Casanova as delivered in this concise and elegant volume.

Professor Sir Paul Preston, author of The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, Revolution & Revenge

At the time, the popular view on both sides of the Spanish civil war was that the issues at stake were simple in the eyes of both the left and the right, at home and abroad. Even today the issue of General Franco's legacy is still fought over in such terms. But it was never that straightforward, and Professor Casanova has managed brilliantly to summarise the core issues in readable form without in any way minimising their extreme complexity.

Jonathan Haslam FBA, Professor Emeritus in the History of International Relations, Cambridge University, UK