CNT in the Spanish Revolution Volume 3

Description

The CNT in the Spanish Revolution is the history of one of the most original and audacious, and arguably also the most far-reaching, of all the twentieth-century revolutions. It is the history of the giddy years of political change and hope in 1930s Spain, when the so-called 'Generation of '36', Peirats' own generation, rose up against the oppressive structures of Spanish society. It is also a history of a revolution that failed, crushed in the jaws of its enemies on both the reformist left and the reactionary right. Jose Peirats' account is effectively the official CNT history of the war, passionate, partisan but, above all, intelligent. Its huge sweeping canvas covers all areas of the anarchist experience - the spontaneous militias, the revolutionary collectives, the moral dilemmas occasioned by the clash of revolutionary ideals and the stark reality of the war effort against Franco and his German Nazi and Italian Fascist allies. Volume 3 tells of the CNT's last push for the anarchist revolution in Spain, and the crushing defeat of the wide ranging activities of the CNT. An additional chapter surveys "The History of Spanish Anarchism in the English Language."

Jose Peirats joined the anarcho-syndicalist CNT at the age of 14 and became one of the great intellectuals of the Spanish anarchist movement. He is the author of Anarchists in the Spanish Revolution. Chris Ealham has spent more than 20 years researching Spain's anarchist and anarcho-syndicalists movements. He is the author of Anarchism and the City: Revolution and Counter-Revolution, 1898-1937 and Class, Culture and Conflict in Barcelona, 1898-1937.

"A landmark in the historiography of the Spanish Civil War. . . . It is effectively the official CNT history of the war, passionate, partisan but, above all, intelligent." --Paul Preston, professor, London School of Economics "For those whose field of study is modern Spain, this is indeed an obligatory purchase. Given that this edition has been indexed and footnoted it may prove more useful to scholars than the original Spanish-language editions." --Kate Sharpley Library A wonderful work and an essential resource for anyone interested in the history of the CNT and the Spanish revolution. Indeed, reading Periats work you see how much other historians (and other anarchists) have lifted from it in their books. It is great to finally have the work available in English." --www.struggle.ws