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lukas
, May 11, 2015
(view all comments by lukas)
"Generalissimo Francisco Franco, the Caudillo of Spain, was the most tenacious and most successful of twentieth-century Europe's great dictators."
Franco, despite his early alliances with Hitler and Mussolini, managed to stay neutral during World War 2 and was subsequently left alone to maintain his dictatorship over Spain until his death in 1975. Professor Paul Preston, who has written extensively on the Spanish Civil War, gives us a massive, impressive, and exhaustive biography of the man and his times. Unlike his contemporaries, Franco was unassuming and lacked charisma, and though this book runs nearly 800 pages, you're struck with Franco's enigmatic, almost cipher-like personality. This is perhaps what's most fascinating about the man, and the fact that he held onto power for so long without much violent opposition until the rise of the Basque separatist group ETA in the late 50s/60s. Preston spends an understandably long amount of time on the Spanish Civil War, which may inspire you to pick up Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia," and World War 2, which Franco craftily managed to stay out, thus avoiding being overthrown after the Allies' victory. For another huge biography of an iconic fascist, check out Ian Kershaw's definitive 2-volume Hitler bio. "I was never motivated by ambition for power. Ever since I was young, they put on my shoulders responsibilities which were greater than my years and my rank."-Franco
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