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The most detailed history to date of the million-strong revolutionary trade union, the CNT, and of its grassroots supporters who, in July 1936, embarked upon the most far-reaching of all 20th century revolutionary experiments. It is the history of the giddy years of political change and hope in 1930s Spain, when the so-called 'Generation of 36, ' Peirats's own generation, rose up against the oppressive structures of Spanish society. It is also a history of a revolution that failed, crushed in the jaws of its enemies on both the democratic-left and the reactionary right. Containing a bounty of original documents produced by the trade unions, revolutionary assemblies and rural and industrial collectives of the 1930s, many of which are unavailable elsewhere, and all translated into English for the first time, Peirats explores the new social, economic and cultural arrangements that were introduced in the streets, fields and factories of republican Spain. A staggering work - fully indexed and footnoted, with 20 pages of photographs. Superlatives like mandatory and monumental really fail to do this justice. A vital book about a crucial era in history.
"Magnificent."—Paul Preston, author of The Spanish Holocaust Brick maker by trade, revolutionary anarchist and historian by default; this is a study of the life of José Peirats (1908–1989) and the labor union that gave him life, the CNT. It is the biography of an individual but also of a collective agent—the working class Peirats was born into—and the affective ties of kinship, friendship, and community that cemented into a movement, the most powerful of its type in the world. Chris Ealham is the author of Anarchism and the City: Revolution and Counter-revolution in Barcelona, 1898–1937.
A careful chronicle of political change and hope in 1930s Spain, this staggering work examines how the Confederaci n Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), rose up against the oppressive structures of Spanish society. Documenting a history of revolution that failed at the hands of its enemies on both the reformist left and reactionary right, this intelligent account covers all areas of the anarchist experience--from the spontaneous militias and the revolutionary collectives to the moral dilemmas occasioned by the clash of revolutionary ideals and the stark reality of the war effort. Passionately written and carefully indexed, this edition is the only in-depth English-language text available and converts the work into a usable tool for historians and anarchists alike. Volume 2 focuses on the battles raging at both the front and rear guards. Additionally, a biographical chapter, "The Life and Struggles of Jos Peirats" gives a great deal of insight into this CNT fighter and historian.
A careful chronicle of political change and hope in 1930s Spain, this staggering work examines how the Confederaci n Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), rose up against the oppressive structures of Spanish society. Documenting a history of revolution that failed at the hands of its enemies on both the reformist left and reactionary right, this intelligent account covers all areas of the anarchist experience--from the spontaneous militias and the revolutionary collectives to the moral dilemmas occasioned by the clash of revolutionary ideals and the stark reality of the war effort. Passionately written and carefully indexed, this edition is the only in-depth English-language text available and converts the work into a usable tool for historians and anarchists alike. Volume 3 tells of the CNT's last push for the anarchist revolution in Spain and the crushing defeat of the wide-ranging activities of the CNT. An additional chapter, "The History of Spanish Anarchism in the English Language," is included.
A comprehensive view of the anarchists' role in Spain from 1936 to 1939, both during the conflict and in their unique social and economic experiments behind the lines. The author examines the part anarchists played in the defence of Madrid, as well as life in the rural and urban collectives.
"Essential reading for anyone interested in the wider roots and antecedents of international syndicalism and anarchism."—David Welch, University of Kent Spanish anarchism did not emerge, fully formed, on the eve of the fascist coup attempt and subsequent Civil War. In this detailed history of Spain in the decades leading up to the cataclysm, Jason Garner investigates what most other books simply assume: the conflicting forces, goals, and strategies that combined to create the country's libertarian movement. Jason Garner has taught at the University of Westminster and the University of Kent. He currently lives and teaches in Patagonia, Argentina.
This book investigates urban conflict, popular protest and social control in Barcelona during the period 1898-1937. Focusing upon the sources of anarchist power in the city and the role of the organised anarchist movement during the Second Republic the volume concludes with an analysis of the decline of the power of the anarchist movement during the civil war in its identification of the local conditions that made Barcelona into the capital of European anarchism.
At last. A serious examination of the legendary FAI. And hence, by necessity, a history and analysis of the organised anarchist movement in Spain, and its relationship with the wider labor movement. By far the best book on the subject, Christie is ruthless in his examination - from an anarchist perspective - of the theory, and practice of this loose-knit group of anarchist militants. Required reading for everyone who not only wants to understand the history of Spanish anarchism, but for those that might want to see some viable form of anarchist organisation in the 21st century.
Spanish Marxism Versus Soviet Communism is the first historical study of the P.O.U.M. to appear in English. Drawing from his multi-volume work on the subject, which was published in Spanish and Catalan, Victor Alba has collaborated with Stephen Schwartz to produce a condensed and amplified study that is far more than a translation. Outside Spain, the political movement known as the Workers Party of Marxist Unification (Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxist or P.O.U.M.) is chiefly known as the revolutionary group with which George Orwell fought during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. The events in which the P.O.U.M. found itself at the center of conflict between Iberian revolutionaries and...