About this title: 'Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic Socialism as I understand it'. Thus wrote Orwell following his experiences as a militiaman in the Spanish Civil War, chronicled in "Homage to Catalonia". Here he brings to bear all the force of his ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Folio Society, London
Date Published: 1975
ISBN-13:9780850670325ISBN:0850670322
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. 214p., 8plates: ill., 1map(on lining papers), ports.; 23 cm. Originally published, London: Secker and Warburg, 1938. read more
Description: New. 0156421178 NEW! NEVER USED! . There are no highlights, No pen marks, No missing pages. The binding is sturdy. Upgraded shipping on orders over $49.99. Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Description: Fine. 0156421178 NEVER USED! This book has never been read. There are no highlights, No pen marks, No missing pages. The binding is sturdy. This book may have slight shelf wear. Upgraded shipping on orders over $49.99. Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Edition: Reprint.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harvest Books, New York
Date Published: 1980
ISBN-13:9780156421171ISBN:0156421178
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 264 p. Harvest Book. Audience: General/trade. Totally clean & unmarked inside except for a water stain on the half-title page. Water stain on the outer page edges opposite the spine. A very few light marks on the covers but generally very clean. Very slightly... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Mariner Books
Date Published: 1980-10-22
ISBN-13:9780156421171ISBN:0156421178
Description: Very Good. Mild rubbing and wear from handling; Slight tanning and soiling to page edges; ** Free USPS tracking and confirm on US orders ** read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harvest Books, New York
Date Published: 1980
ISBN-13:9780156421171ISBN:0156421178
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 264 p. Harvest Book. Audience: General/trade. Part of an estate personal library, the book was purchased new, stored properly and never read. read more
Description: Very Good. 0140862595 **Cassette Tape Version**-exactly as described, Exact UPC match. Includes Box/Case, and has been previously Gently Used, though the box/case may have some shelf wear and rubbing. *Not* an ex-rental or library item, only been listened to once or twice at most. Tapes all are functioning and it plays well, though they may not arrive rewound. -Ships Quickly! All our items are IN STOCK. read more
Binding: Trade pb
Publisher: Harvest Books
Date Published: 09/1987
ISBN-13:9780156421171ISBN:0156421178
Description: Fine. No dust jacket, as issued. A fine copy. Harvest Book. Unknown printing. 0. 69" x 8. 00" x 5. 31". Fine in trade paperback. read more
Description: 2 Audio Cassette tapes, as new in plastic pictorial box. Read by Samuel West. Orwell's celebrated account of his experience as a militiaman in the Spanish Civil War. It is also a political document of the greatest importance which had a profound effect on Orwell. He brings his passion to bear in this great moral problem of the century. 2 and 3/4 hours long. (abridged) read more
Edition: Letter Line MN
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harcourt Inc., Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1969
ISBN-13:9780156421171ISBN:0156421178
Description: Near Very Good. No Jacket. 7 3/4 X 5 1/4. Covers, spine, edges and corners good. Binding firm and straight. No conspicuous wear. If seeking a copy for reference, research, analysis, dissertation or just enjoyment, this is the one. Pages are bright, tight and clean. 232 pages. read more
"I had dropped more or less by chance into the only community of any size in Western Europe where political consciousness and disbelief in capitalism were more normal than their opposites. Up here in Aragon one was among tens of thousands of people, mainly though not entirely of working-class origin, all living at the same level and mingling on terms of equality. In theory, it was a perfect equality, and even in practice it was not far from it. There is a sense in which it would be true to say that one was experiencing a foretaste of Socialism, by which I mean that the prevailing mental atmosphere was that of Socialism. Many of the normal motives of civilized life--snobbishness, money-grubbing, fear of the boss, etc.--had simply ceased to exist. The ordinary class-division of society had disappeared to an extent that is almost unthinkable in the money-tainted air of England; there was no one there except the peasants and ourselves, and no one owed anyone else as his master. Of course such a state of affairs could not last. It was simply a temporary and local phase in an enormous game that is being played over the whole surface of the earth. But it lasted long enough to have its effect upon anyone who experienced it. However much one cursed at the time, one realized afterwards that one had been in contact with something strange and valuable. One had been in a community where hope was more normal than apathy or cynicism, where the word 'comrade' stood for comradeship and not, as in most countries, for humbug. One had breathed the air of equality."
Minus the whole being-shot-in-the-neck-by-Fascists bit, doesn't that sound like a description of Burning Man?
"This book is a missing link to any other book by Orwell, or on the subject of the Spanish Civil War. Orwell lived during the tragic infighting between political groups in Barcelona, to which Hemingway and the others only alluded. If you read For Whom the Bell Tolls, they talk about this as background but do not explain it. Orwell comes as close as any to explaining what was happening between the factions of the anti-fascit movement during the war.
The book was recomended to me by somebody who thought it would help me to understand what it is like to live in chaos ( as I was doing in Nepal, though not with this accompanying scale of violence....)
The book itself was not popular at the time of publication, becasue it went against the grain of the leftist thinking in Britain - Orwell was making a leap into anti-totalitarianism here, and rejecting the Stalinists just as much as he rejected the fascists, which was not in vogue."
"Orwell's clear, direct prose proves to be the perfect medium for this brief war memoir. As others have mentioned, the Spanish Civil War with its many factions is, at best, hard to understand. I did a tiny amount of research before reading the book so that I'd have at least a minimum of information on it. I think that's a good idea for anyone reading Orwell's book.
The best parts are, of course, his own experiences of the war, with its alternating boredom and fear, its cameraderie, and its general messiness. I've read many war stories and heard even more, but Orwell was the first to emphasize the smell of it. His account of life in the trenches and in the cities is vivid and sharp. He makes clear that he's on one side and that, therefore, Homage is heavily biased. Nevertheless, he doesn't hesitate to point out the weaknesses and contradictions of his own faction.
The chapters dealing with the infighting among the factions are heavy going; I admit to skipping a few paragraphs here and there, but I think I still managed to get the general idea of a complete lack of cooperation and defined goals which helped to bring down the revolution.
This is an excellent book; most highly recommended to anyone."
"Was quite tempted to follow Terry's suit and just use some great quotes here about war being bloody and beastly. I really had no idea about any of the strife between different parties supporting the Government. As Orwell says in the one of the excellent (and clear) chapters on the politics of these internal disputes, I thought the war for against fascism and for 'common decency' and that was it. The two politics chapters have been relegated to an appendix in my penguin modern classics edition - apparently as instructed by the author before his death. This makes absolutely no sense for the ignorant reader and, until I discovered the appendix, I was thoroughly mystified about the difference between POUM and PSUC let alone the CNT, the FAI and the UGT, especially when Communists, Socialists and Anarchists are referred to with no explanation of which groups they are aligned with. Worrying reading still and leaves you with no faith in politics being anything but a big stinking mess."
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