Unlikely Warriors by Richard Baxell
Unlikely Warriors by Richard Baxell* – The Extraordinary Story Of The Britons Who Fought In The Spanish Civil War is the latest book I read on the Spanish Civil War. Last week I had my seminar and lecture on the International Brigades, so this was just the book I needed to read more on the subject. It is a long book, but it is filled with details and quotes, and it is very useful and interesting at the same time. I made a lot of notes from it, for my next essay, more than I imagined considering that my topic is not actually the International Brigade. This is due to the extensive research and how nice the information is presented.
Because the writing style has a nice flow, I think that this book can be enjoyed by more people than just students studying this period of history. Especially as it deals with a less known topic, thousands of volunteers who fought in a civil war in a country they never been to before. In the last chapter, Baxell talks about what happened to some of the people he mentioned in the book, which is really great. I’ve enjoyed that.
I will make sure to recommend it to my colleagues. For students, this book is great for references too. On top of having lots of quotes from primary sources, the bibliography is fantastic. The bibliography is divided into useful categories, such as published primary sources and secondary sources.
Unlikely Warriors by Richard Baxell
Details about the picture: –
My rating: 5/5 Stars
Would I recommend it: yes
Published by: Quatro
Year it was published: 2014 (first edition was published in 2012)
Format: Paperback
Genre(s): History – European – Spanish Civil War
Pages: 531
About the author: Richard Baxell is a British historian. He is now a Research Fellow of the Canada Blanch Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Between 2015 and 2018 he was the Chair of the International Brigade Memorial Trust. He published several books on the Spanish civil war.
Website & Social Media Links: richardbaxell & Quarto
*I was sent a copy of Unlikely Warriors by Richard Baxell for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.
Hi Anca,
I always have a notepad and pen beside me when I am reading, as I tend to make copious notes and quotes for the review.
I also like to have them handy for when I am watching television, as new to me words often crop up which I can use in my Wondrous Words Wednesday meme.
Apart from my books, jigsaw puzzles and knitting wool, I also have something of a ‘thing’ for notebooks. You still can’t beat the hand written word!
I didn’t realise that so many brits had fought in another country’s Civil War. It’s not surprising that we have such a bad reputation in so many places!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yvonne xx
Actually, because the war was presented in the west by the ones who went to fight there, despite loosing, the Brits and the International Brigades have a very good reputation. Most of them were sent to Spain by the Communist International. This is why this topic, the Spanish civil war, is so intriguing and taught in universities today.