Milicianas by Lisa Margaret Lines
Milicianas by Lisa Margaret Lines – Women in Combat in the Spanish Civil War. It was a very good book, short, but filled with fascinating details. It wasn’t perfect, hence my 4 stars. Even so, the book is worth reading for many reasons.
At the start of the Spanish Civil War, women joined in the local militias, hence the name milicianas. Soon the press who praised them turned against them, saying that they make no difference and that many of them are prostitutes. It was so fascinating to read about how this change happened, gradually, but in a few months nevertheless.
Lines touches on different points, like the number of women in combat and those doing auxiliary tasks. She also gives lots of quotes from milicianas, which create a lovely imagine.
I think this book can be interesting for people who are not studying the civil war, just because it shows how public opinion can be influenced by newspapers and that reality doesn’t really matter. It is a bit scary to see how easily people can be manipulated into a different narrative with a few newspapers who enforce some biases people have.
Milicianas by Lisa Margaret Lines
Details about the picture: –
My rating: 4/5 Stars
Would I recommend it: yes
Published by: Lexington Books
Year it was published: 2012
Format: Paperback
Genre(s): European History – Spanish Civil War
Pages: 226
About the author: Lisa Lines is an independent historian and director and head editor of Elite Editing, Australia’s largest academic editing service.
Website & Social Media Links: –
I totally agree with the sentiment Kelly has expressed in her comment. You only have to look at recent events on both sides of the Atlantic to see the manipulative power of the media. Even watching the evening news is a minefield to get at what you think and hope is the truth, but trawl from channel to channel and watch the spin and bias which surrounds an identical story, depending on which side of the political divide the station sits!
The roles of women in any wartime situation, regardless of the era, have always been underplayed and undervalued in my opinion.
Reading history made me realize how often this happens, even with things that happened a century ago… or even more. There are pro and anti books about all sorts of things, including a king who died 500 years ago. :))
Like you, I try to read from both sides, so I get a slightly better picture of what really happened.
With the increase of social media over the past decade or two, I believe this manipulation has become even greater. It truly is scary.
Kelly recently posted…iPod Roulette – November 2020
I agree. In this case, from heroines who would give their lives to the cause to being seen as prostitutes spreading STDs, and that in only a few months, is staggering.