The Spanish Civil War might be something that the Spanish have only recently begun to debate openly, but for foreign writers it has evolved as nothing less than a thriving cottage industry; nevertheless the appeal of any fraternal conflict, particular one with the international ramifications of the Spanish Civil War, is always compelling.
I have just read the most recent one, 'Famous Faces of the Spanish Civil War'
(Pen&Sword, UK,2009) by Steve Hurst. The book has an engaging style and is well illustrated with all the usual suspects, George Orwell, Ernest Hemingway, Dalí, Federico Lorca, Arthur Koestler, Picasso, John Cornford, Martha Gellhorn et al. But what makes this book stand out is that Steve Hurst is not just another desk-bound writer, he is an artist-historian and, just like the artist-soldiers of the war itself, he has walked the walk; from the killing beaches of Málaga to the Republic's last breaths in the snows of the Pyrenees, researching, interviewing survivors and drafting the maps that richly illustrate the book. 5 stars
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