This book unveils the role of a hitherto unrecognized group of men who; long before the International Brigades made its name in the Spanish Civil War; also found reasons to fight under the Spanish flag. Their enemy was not fascism; but what could be at times an equally overbearing ideology: Napoleon's imperialism.Although small in number; British volunteers played a surprisingly influential role in the conduct of war operations; in politics; gender and social equality; in cultural life both in Britain and Spain and even in relation to emancipation movements in Latin America. Some became prisoners of war while a few served with guerrilla forces.Many of the works published about the Peninsular War in the last two decades have adopted an Anglocentric narrative; writing the Spanish forces out of victories; or have tended to present the war; not as much won by the allies; but lost by the French. This book takes a radically different approach by drawing on previously untapped archival sources to argue that victory was the outcome of a truly transnational effort.
#3011305 in Books Free Press 2008-11-21 2008-11-21Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.20 x 6.00l; 1.34 #File Name: 1439152942416 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I Hated It.By habitzgI wish I had never ordered this book. If I had not underlined a few things in the first few pages; I would have returned it. I will never buy another of Weintraub's books books. He's over-pompous for my taste and his writing style is very difficult to read. Waste of my money.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy vinoo m naiduA+42 of 45 people found the following review helpful. An Intriguing Book About a Mesmerizing Enigmatic Subject!By Barron LaycockNo other modern American military leader engenders such controversy and hotly-expressed differences in opinion than General Douglas MacArthur. Certainly; there can be no argument against the fact that his previous treatment by other authors such as William Manchester ("American Caesar") etc. does a much more comprehensive and objective service than does this book to anyone attempting to understand the man; his eccentricities; and his actions during the tenure of his fifty-year career as a virtual American military institution in the Orient. Yet; it should also be noted that this volume adds considerably to our understanding of MacArthur the man; the general; and the legend in an intriguing; unique; and somewhat different take on Macarthur; his character; vanity; conduct; and a blow-by-blow account of his prosecution of the Korean campaign.At the outbreak of the Korean conflict MacArthur was preoccupied as the Governor-General of Japan with overseeing the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the defeated nation; and his first efforts to conduct the Korean campaign were through an attempt at long-distance management of the actions ministrations of his field commanders. Of course; MacArthur couldn't stay out of the action long; soon began actively interfering with command decisions from afar; and this led to a number of strains; breakdowns in communication; and military setbacks. The miscommunications and lack of clear and achievable military objective resulting from this situation soon turned into a both a political and military debacle; and according to Weintraub it was clear that MacArthur's fingerprints were all over the place in terms of poor planning; strategy; and tactics.Moreover; given MacArthur's legendary self-absorption and his ego-driven association with Asian political potentates like national China's Chiang; his approach toward the military campaign in Korea often seemed less oriented to the stated and quite limited military goals of the Truman administration than it was an effort to achieve his own set of political objectives based on his own assessment of what the situation required; and these were possibly tied to his own aspirations for the 1952 Republican Presidential nomination; which he had reason to believe he could expect to come his way.However; it should also be said that no one could lead a military action like MacArthur; and he was quite able; effective; and often brilliant in eventually pushing the Chinese back to the 38th Parallel. The problem was that he just would not yield to the chain of command; and through his campaign of sustained insubordination to President Truman forced his own recall and dismissal. Talk about being your own worst enemy!In "MacArthur's War" author Weintraub treats us to a massively documented and carefully detailed yet quite readable and entirely entertaining view of the war in Korea. It is a blow-by-blow account of this; the bloodiest; fiercest; and most hotly contested military engagement since the Second World War. Told by way of the participants; and often in their own words; this is an engaging; entertaining; and scrupulously well-told history of a terrible conflict that cost 35;000 American lives and still; after almost fifty years; has over 6;000 American MIAs associated with it. This book should be read by anyone interested in military history; or with anyone who just loves a terrific story well told.
