The civil war that broke Spain apart between 1936 and 1939 and attracted liberals and socialists from all over the world to fight against Franco was one of the most hard-fought and bitter conflicts of the 20th century. It was a war of atrocities and political genocide and a military test ground for the Russians, Italians, and Germans before World War II.

Non-fiction books about the Spanish Civil War

Spain in Our Hearts

by Adam Hochschild

From the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, it was the most important political question of the time. As soon as Hitler and Mussolini heard that the right-wing generals wanted to overthrow the elected government of Spain, they sent planes, troops, and supplies to help them do it. Millions of people from all over the world thought that Spain's fast-growing fascism had to be stopped right away. There were more than 35,000 people from other countries who came to help the Spanish government.

Adam Hochschild shows this tumultuous time through the lives of these people. Some of them are well-known, like Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell. Others aren't as well-known. Some of the people who died in the battle for Madrid were 19-year-old Kentucky women. One was a fiery leftist who came to wartime Spain on her honeymoon; another ran away from his college in Pennsylvania and was killed in the battle for Madrid.

The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge

One of the best and most vivid stories about the Spanish Civil War and General Franco's rise to power.

Only the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39 has been a modern conflict that has made people both angry and excited. In our minds, it not only predicted the Second World War, but it also started a new and horrible form of warfare that would be used for the rest of the twentieth century. People in Europe and the United States wanted to change things after the Great Depression, and this song echoed that desire, too.

The Battle For Spain

Antony Beevor's account of the Civil War is based on new information that has been found in the Spanish, Russian, and German archives. It tells the story of how the Civil War started and how it went from the coup d'etat in July 1936 to the savage fighting of the next three years that led to the defeat of the Republicans in 1939.

He is able to figure out the complicated political and regional forces that played such a big role in the war's start and history.

The Spanish Civil War

Between 1936 and 1939, people from all over the world wanted to fight against Franco. What sparked this desire? It's not clear why the British and US governments did not help. And why did the Republican cause fall apart so quickly?

Hugh Thomas's book is a classic that gives an in-depth and vivid look at this passionate fight between fascism and democracy, communism and Catholicism, and which was as much a war for the world as it was for Spain.

Homage To Catalonia

Orwell's first-hand account of the harsh conditions of the Spanish Civil War in this book.

Then, with passion and clarity, he tells about the bright hopes and cynical betrayals of that chaotic time. He talks about the revolutionary euphoria of Barcelona, the courage of ordinary Spaniards, the terror and confusion of the front, and his near-fatal bullet wound and the vicious treachery of his supposed allies.

Fiction books about the Spanish Civil War

Winter in Madrid

by C. J. Sansom

In 1940, Madrid is in ruins and its people are starving. The Germans keep on marching through Europe, destroying everything in their way. Britain is now the only country in the world that isn't part of the fight between the United States and the rest of the world.

When Harry Brett comes into this world, he's a war-torn veteran of Dunkirk who now works for the British Secret Service as a spy. Harry was sent to get Sandy Forsyth, a friend from school who is now a shady businessman in Madrid, to trust him. He finds himself in a dangerous game and surrounded by old memories.

It's a vivid and haunting picture of wartime Spain from the author of the Shardlake books.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

by Ernest Hemingway

As a war correspondent, Robert Jordan fought for the Spanish Republic against the fascist leader, Franco, in For Whom the Bell Tolls. He was an American volunteer in the International Brigades, which fought against Franco.

A young Spanish woman and the leader of the rebel group Jordan works with fall in love. They argue about the risks of their mission, which causes Jordan to lose his job.

The Muse

by Jessie Burton

The new book from The Miniaturist, which has sold more than a million copies around the world, tells the story of a lost masterpiece with a secret history.

Truth about the painting comes from 1936, when Olive Schloss, the daughter of a well-known art dealer, wants to make her own mark on the world. She lives in a big house in Spain's countryside. Isaac Robles, an artist and revolutionary, and his half-sister Teresa come into this fragile paradise. They quickly become part of the Schloss family, with explosive and devastating consequences.

Alberto's Lost Birthday

by Diana Rosie

When Alberto was younger, he used to be very young. But he doesn't know how old he is. Before he came to an orphanage during the Spanish civil war, he doesn't remember anything.

It's not something he thinks about very often. When Tino, 7, learns that his grandfather has never had a birthday party, blown out candles on a birthday cake, or received a single birthday gift, he's determined that things will change for the better. There were no Alberto's birthday. So the two went to look for it.

Because they want to find the old man's memories, they go deep into the heart of Spain, which says it will forget its past.

The South

by Colm Toibin

Readers learned about Colm Tóibn for the first time when they read The South, which won an award.

Katherine Proctor has been brave enough to leave her family in Ireland and try to start a new life somewhere else, like the United States. She flees to Spain, where she meets Miguel, a passionate man who has fought for his own rights. She wants to become an artist. There, they start to build a life together. As Miguel's past comes back to haunt him, Katherine is forced to look at her relationships with her lover, her painting, and the country she thought she knew.

Guernica

by Dave Boling

When the German Luftwaffe bombed the town of Guernica, it was an amazing story of love. It took place in Guernica before, during, and after the war in Spain. He leaves the Basque fishing village of Lekeitio in 1935 because he is in trouble with the Spanish Civil Guard. He moves to Guernica, which is the center of Basque culture and tradition, to start over again. A new life isn't enough for him when he gets there. He finds someone to live for. Miren Ansotegui is the beautiful and charismatic dancer he meets. The two fall in love and believe that nothing can break it apart – even death – so they keep it going. As the Navarro family's story is told, the Red Baron, the Luftwaffe, and even Picasso show up in Guernica. This is because the history of the area is so rich that these people show up. 'A heart-wrenching, but also life-affirming, story.' The Daily Mail

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