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Between 1936 and 1939 several thousand men and women from Britain chose to leave the safety of their homes and involve themselves in another country's civil war. The country was Spain, where a military uprising had been launched against the country's Republican government. Most of the British who went to Spain were volunteers for the legendary International Brigades, though others served in other roles, such as medics, journalists or aid workers. A few even fought for Franco.
Drawing substantially on new material, these ten biographies tell the stories of a handful of those extraordinary men and women, explaining why they went to Spain, what happened to them there and the lasting, often dramatic impact the war had on their lives. While they survived the war, all were forever changed by their experiences. All of them were, in their different ways, forged in Spain.
Richard Baxell is a historian who has written extensively on the British volunteers and the Spanish Civil War. His Unlikely Warriors was short-listed for the 2013 political history book of the year.
Reviewers' Comments:
'As the Spanish Civil War fades from living memory, Richard Baxell has rescued from obscurity some of the brave men and women who left the safety of their homes in Britain to risk all in the fight against fascism, using newly released archival material to bring their stories vividly to life.'
Billy Bragg.
'These enthralling biographies give a picture of the passions of the age ... Baxell's research is meticulous ... Forged in Spain is a serious and moving book that may inspire readers to fight the rise of a new fascism today.'
Michael Eaude, The TLS.
'Ten fascinating biographies of extraordinary men and women ... this book will obviously be of great interest to both specialists and general readers ... thoroughly researched, absorbing to read.'
Brian Rubin, The Orwell Society
'The great strength of the book lies in Baxell's project of showing how these individuals' life stories were given a defining "barricade moment" of political clarity during the war, and how the conflict called forth previously unknown strengths of leadership and organisation from its participants ... the personal stories are absorbing and exceedingly well told, as Baxell skilfully interweaves varied sources - archival, oral history and autobiography.'
Helen Mercer, The Morning Star
