серьезное чтение

об истории серьезно

историческая литература

книги о войне

Personal stories from the men and women who volunteered to fight for a cause they passionately believed in.The Spanish Civil War, which raged from 1936-9, was a brutal and intense war which claimed well over 500,000 lives. Rightly predicting that the rise of Fascism in Spain could develop into a more global conflict, almost 2500 British volunteers travelled to Spain under the banner of the International Brigade to fight for the Spanish Republic in an attempt to stem the tide.Acclaimed oral historian Max Arthur has tracked down the last eight survivors of this conflict, and interviewed them for their unique perspective, their memories of their time fighting and the motives which compelled them to fight.Theirs is a unique story, of men and women volunteering to lay down their lives for a cause, believing passionately that the Spanish Republic's fight was their fight too.From Union leader to nurse, Egyptologist to IRA activist, these survivors have incredible, compelling and sometimes harrowing tales to tell of their experiences, revealing their ideologies, pride, regrets, and feelings about the legacy of the actions they took."For most young people there was a feeling of frustration, but some were determined to do anything that seemed possible, even if it meant death, to try to stop the spread of Fascism. It was real, and it had to be stopped."Jack Jones – who fought at the Battle of the Ebro, now aged 96

The Real Band of Brothers: First-hand accounts from the last British survivors of the Spanish Civil War

Max Arthur, bestselling author of the hugely popular ‘Forgotten Voices’ series, recaptures the day-to-day lives of working people in the Edwardian era.The Edwardian era is often eclipsed in the popular imagination by the Victorian era that preceded it and the First World War that followed. In this wonderful work, Max Arthur redresses this imbalance, combining oral history and rare images and rediscovered film stills from the turn of the century to give voice to the forgotten figures who peopled the cities, factories and seasides of Edwardian Britain.This extraordinary period was fuelled by a relentless sense of progress and witnessed the invention of many of the technologies we now take for granted. The extremes of this upstairs-downstairs world prompted a huge upsurge in political activity, and the Edwardian age saw the rise of socialism and the emergence of the suffragette movement. These years are made all the more poignant by our knowledge that the First World War was imminent and this time of optimistic development would be brutally cut short.This book draws together the experiences of people from all walks of life, capturing the first generation that was able to record its experiences on film.