Editor, Times-Union: The following is the second part of my letter on the subject of the Spanish Civil War, one of the most divisive conflicts of the 20th century and precursor to World War II.
The first part of my letter was printed in the Feb. 1 edition of the Times-Union. In that letter I listed 16 valuable sources of information that readers can use for further research on this subject. Those sources of information can be found at the Warsaw Public Library or other local libraries, Amazon.com, or at your nearest bookstore. I would highly recommend some of the following books from the first part of the reading list which are marked with an asterisk and book number 27 from the second part of the reading list, The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction, for those readers interested in getting a basic understanding of this conflict.
- The Spanish Civil War: An Illustrated Chronicle 1936-1939 (1986) - The Spanish Civil War (1982) - Spain Under Franco: A History: The Story of Spain and Its People from the Rise of the Franco Dictatorship to Present (1974) - The Franco Regime: 1936-1975 (1987) - Franco and Hitler: Spain, Germany and World War II (2008) - Spain Betrayed: The Soviet Union in the Spanish Civil War (2001) - Interlink Illustrated Histories: The Spanish Civil War (1999) - The Spanish Republic and the Civil War (1931-1939) (1965) Recommended Reading List Continued 17. Spain (1881) 18. Modern Nations of the World: Spain (2000) 19. Area Handbook for Spain (1976) 20. The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations: The History of Spain (1999) 21. Spain: A History (2000) 22. Basque History of the World (1999) 23. Culture and Customs of Europe: Culture and Customs of Spain (2002) 24. Barcelona (1992) 25. Spain: A Nation Comes of Age (1984) 26. Cultural Atlas of Spain and Portugal (1994) 27. The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction (2005)
The third part of my letter will start with some necessary background information on the decades-long buildup to the conflict that erupted in July of 1936 between the Nationalists and Republicans. It will then precede with a brief overview of the progress of the war with the final defeat of the Second Spanish Republic by the nationalists. That overview will then be followed by some concluding lessons that can apply to any country including our own.
