In an effort to determine objectively why the Spanish Republic (1931-1936), in which he so fervently believed, had failed, Mr. Brennan made an intensive study of Spanish history, 1874-1936. He studied the character of the people, analyzed the Catalan question, the agrarian problem, the rise of anarchism, the anarco-syndicalists, the Carlists, and socialists. He found that together these split the country “vertically and horizontally, into a number of mutually antagonistic sections,” eventually producing the Popular Front government, which was made up of so many distinct groups that it could not identify its own supporters or produce a single leader capable of dominating the situation. The result was the Civil War.
This is a paperback reproduction of the second edition and differs from the first only in that it contains a second preface, minor corrections, and omits a paragraph (pp. 331-332) which time has outmoded. The work is brilliantly executed, scholarly, impartial, and includes an excellent bibliography. The best work of its kind to date and a must for all students of Spanish history.
