"I wonder what is the appropriate first action when you come from a country at war and set foot on peaceful soil. Mine was to rush to the tobacco-kiosk and buy as many cigars and cigarettes as I could stuff into my pockets." Most war correspondents observe wars and then tell stories about the battles, the soldiers and the civilians. George Orwell--novelist, journalist, sometime socialist--actually traded his press pass for a uniform and fought against Franco's Fascists in the Spanish Civil War during 1936 and 1937. He put his politics and his formidable conscience to the toughest tests during those days in the trenches in the Catalan section of Spain. Then, after nearly getting killed, he went back to England and wrote a gripping account of his experiences, as well as a complex analysis of the political machinations that led to the defeat of the socialist Republicans and the victory of the Fascists.


From AudioFile
Homage to Catalonia is a triumph. The book lends itself to audio, not just because of Orwell's clear, reflective reporting on the Spanish Civil War, but also because of his superb descriptive powers. The observational passages leave the listener with lasting impressions of Spain and the Spanish character, and indeed the character of the war itself. Frederick Davidson makes a fine reader. He sounds convincingly as Orwell might have sounded, even to the occasional use of French-accented Spanish pronunciation. The audio presentation adds a new dimension to a text which is required reading for any student of the Spanish Civil War. A.D.H. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

ANNOTATION

A first hand account of the Spanish Civil War. Introduction by Lionel Trilling.

FROM THE PUBLISHER